Special 301: NFTC puts plain packaging policies of Australia, EU, Thailand, UK, Ireland and New Zealand under the spotlight
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) submission (7 February 2014, Docket USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review contains a section on plain packaging policies in the context of the protection of trademarks. Continue Reading
Alliance for Fair Trade with India (AFTI): Ground zero for trade sanctions against India
The Alliance for Fair Trade with India (AFTI) was created in June 2013, to lobby for “increased action to address the erosion of intellectual property rights (“IPR”) in India.” According to the group, it is “comprised of organizations representing a range of U.S. industries adversely impacted by India’s troubling and frequently discriminatory policies, including manufacturing, agriculture, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and beyond.”
2014, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Global Intellectual Property Center) discussion of India
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s (Global Intellectual Property Center) submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review requests USTR classify India as a Priority Foreign Country specifically citing concerns over compulsory licensing. The submission noted that India… Continue Reading
2014, PhRMA discussion of India
PhRMA’s submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review requests USTR classify India as a Priority Foreign Country citing the fact that India “continues to embrace these damaging policies, especially its IP rules, by publicly highlighting them… Continue Reading
2014, NFTC discussion of India
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review requested USTR to designate India as a Priority Foreign Country and “conduct an out-of-cycle review of India to assess” Indian policies “across sectors,… Continue Reading
2014, NAM discussion of India
The National Association of Manufacturers’s (NAM) submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review requests that USTR designate India as a Priority Foreign Country citing concerns with India’s actions in multilateral fora including the UNFCCC, WTO and… Continue Reading
2014, IPO discussion of India
The Intellectual Property Owners Association’s (IPO) submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review expressed concern over various aspects of India’s policies including “India’s Forced Technology Transfer, Compulsory Licensing, and Lack of Effective IP Protection” and “Third… Continue Reading
2014, BIO discussion of India
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) submission (7 February 2014, USTR-2013-0040) to USTR’s 2014 Special 301 Review requested USTR to designate India a Priority Foreign Country. BIO expressed concerns over the robust use of patent oppositions in India: The Indian generic… Continue Reading
NFTC, a US trade association, asks USTR to sanction China for issuing and enforcing “junk patents” (2014 submission)
A February 7, 2014 Special 301 submission from the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) asks USTR to bring trade sanctions against China for granting and enforcing “junk patents.” The NFTC also wants patent enforcement to be strickly a private civil remedy (Contrast to the USTR demands that countries implement linkage between drug registration and patents), and complains about China rules that would require employers to more fairly compensation the Chinese inventors they Continue Reading