[Federal Register: January 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 15)]
[Notices]
[Page 3170-3171]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24ja07-90]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Special Provincial Review of Intellectual Property Rights
Protection in China: Request for Further Public Comment
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.
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SUMMARY: On June 16, 2006, USTR requested public comments concerning
the locations and issues that should be the focus of a special
provincial review (SPR) of intellectual property rights protection in
China. In preparation for concluding this review, USTR now requests
written comments from the public concerning the adequacy and
effectiveness of IPR protection and enforcement at the provincial level
in China.
DATES: Submissions must be received on or before 5 p.m. on Monday,
February 26, 2007.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Sybia Harrison, Special
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, and sent (i) electronically, to
the following e-mail address: FR0606@ustr.eop.gov, with ``China Special
Provincial Review'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to (202) 395-
9458, with a confirmation copy sent electronically to the e-mail
address above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stanford K. McCoy, Office of
Intellectual Property, at (202) 395-4510.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 28, 2006, USTR released its annual
Special 301 report pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (enacted in 1994). In that report, USTR
announced that the United States would conduct a special provincial
review in the coming year to examine the adequacy and effectiveness of
China's IPR protection and enforcement at the provincial level. The
goal of this review is to spotlight strengths, weaknesses, and
inconsistencies in and among specific jurisdictions, and to inform the
Special 301 review of China as a whole.
On June 16, 2006, USTR requested initial public comments concerning
the provinces and other provincial-level jurisdictions and issues that
should be the focus of a special provincial review (SPR) of
intellectual property rights protection in China. For purposes of this
review, jurisdictions at the provincial level might include, in
addition to China's provinces (sheng), the four municipalities (shi) of
Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, as well as China's five
autonomous regions (zizhiqu).
Locations and Issues: Based on the comments received, USTR
concluded that locations of particular interest for U.S. right holders
include Beijing City, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, Jiangsu
Province, Shanghai City, and Zhejiang Province. USTR concluded that
issues of particular interest involve local enforcement of IPR,
including trademarks and copyrights.
Request for Further Comments: In the June 16 request for comments,
USTR indicated that it would seek more detailed public comments before
concluding the SPR. USTR now requests comments from the public
concerning the adequacy and effectiveness of IPR protection and
enforcement at the provincial level in China. USTR encourages
submitters to give particular attention to the locations and issues
identified above. However, USTR will accept information on other
locations and issues.
Submitters should bear in mind that the goals of the SPR include
highlighting strengths, as well as weaknesses and inconsistencies, in
and among specific jurisdictions. Strengths could include, for example,
taking ex officio action on behalf of, and providing fair treatment
for, foreign right holders, or local measures that facilitate IPR
enforcement.
Requirements for Comments: Comments should respond to the request
in this notice.
Comments must be in English. No submissions will be accepted via
postal service mail. Documents should be submitted as WordPerfect, MS
Word, PDF, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as
spreadsheets is acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files. A submitter
requesting that information contained in a comment be treated as
confidential business information must certify that
[[Page 3171]]
such information is business confidential and would not customarily be
released to the public by the submitter. A non-confidential version of
the comment must also be provided. For any document containing business
confidential information, the file name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters ``BC-'', and the file name of
the public version should begin with the character ``P-''. The ``P-''
or ``BC-'' should be followed by the name of the submitter. Submissions
should not include separate cover letters; information that might
appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself.
To the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be
included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate
files.
All comments should be addressed to Sybia Harrison, Special
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee, and sent (i) electronically, to
the following e-mail address: FR0606@ustr.eop.gov, with ``China Special
Provincial Review'' in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to (202) 395-
9458, with a confirmation copy sent electronically to the e-mail
address above.
Public Inspection of Submissions: Within one business day of
receipt, non-confidential submissions will be placed in a public file,
open for inspection at the USTR reading room, Office of the United
States Trade Representative, Annex Building, 1724 F Street, NW., Room
1, Washington, DC. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled
at least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling Jacqueline
Caldwell at (202) 395-6186. The USTR reading room is open to the public
from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
Victoria A. Espinel,
Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation.
[FR Doc. E7-1022 Filed 1-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W7-P