Special 301 Report
Encyclopedia
The Special 301 Report is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) under Section 301 as amended of the Trade Act of 1974
. The reports identify trade barriers to US companies and products due to the intellectual property laws, such as copyright
, patents and trademarks, in other countries. Each year the USTR must identify countries which do not provide "adequate and effective" protection of intellectual property rights or "fair and equitable market access to United States person that rely upon intellectual property rights". Under the Special 301 provisions, amended into Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the USTR must also undertake annual surveys of foreign countries' intellectual property laws and policies. The Special 201 Report was first published in 1989. In 2011 12 countries were placed on the Priority Watch List, and 28 on the Watch List.
the USTR must by April 30th fo each year:
The Act defines "priority foreign countries" as:
The Uruguay Round Agreement Act furthermore states that countries may be identified under Special 301 "taking into account the history of intellectual property laws and practices of the foreign country, including any previous identifications" and "the history of efforts of the United States, and the response of the foreign country, to achieve adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights". It also states that compliance with the World Trade Organization
's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) does not preclude a country from being identified as denying "adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights".
The USTR acts on the information available at the time and can identify new "priority foreign countries" on an annual basis. The Special 301 Sub-Committee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee conducts additional reviews throughout the year for countries that "merit additional monitoring". The Trade Act of 1974
requires that the USTR must start investigations within 30 days of a country being identified as "priority foreign country", unless the USTR concludes that such an investigation "would be detrimental to United States economic interests". Unless the "priority foreign country" is regarded as being in breach of a trade agreement, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS), investigations must conclude within six months, with the possibility of a three months extension. Reasons for extension include "substantial progress in drafting or implementing legislative or administrative measures that will provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights" by the "priority foreign country". If the USTR believes that a trade agreement is being breached the USTR must conclude the investigation within 18 months, or within 30 days after the "dispute settlement procedure" has finished. If the USTR concludes that a trade agreement is being breached, "retaliation actions" may be taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974
.
(NAFTA). The US Government can also eliminate tariff preferences unilaterally granted, such as the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP).
If the US investigation concludes that a country has violated a trade agreement Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974
allows the US Government to impose unilateral trade sanctions if the country is not member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or any other trade agreement establishing dispute settlement provisions, such as free trade agreements, which are relevant to the alleged violation. Unilateral trade sanctions under section 301 were imposed on December 20, 2001 on the Ukraine
by imposing a prohibitive tariff on metals, footwear and other imports because the USTR concluded that the country had failed to enact legislation to enforce copyright in relation to music Compact Discs (CDs) and the export of these CDs.
. "Priority Watch List" and "Watch List" countries are identified by the annual Special 301 Report. "Priority Watchlist countries" are judged by the USTR as having "serious intellectual property rights deficiencies" that require increased USTR attention. "Watch List" countries have been identified by the USTR as having "serious intellectual property rights deficiencies" but are not yet placed on the "Priority Watchlist". The USTR can move countries from one list to the other, or remove them from the lists, throughout the year.
(TRIPS). WTO dispute settlement proceedings are initiated when the country's noncompliance with TRIPS is judged to be too narrow to make the country a "priority foreign country". The countries against which the USTR intends to pursue dispute settlement proceedings are announced every April in the Special 301 Report.
(USTR) and its members include the Department of Commerce
, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture
, the Copyright Office, the Council of Economic Advisers, and other agencies. US companies provide extensive comments in the annual National Trade estimates Report. The Special 301 Sub-Committee also takes the views of foreign governments and the views of US embassies on intellectual property rights.
owners, including copyright
, patents and trademarks, can submit complaints to the Trade Compliance Centre, which provides a template for such complaints, or the country or industry desk at the International Trade Administration
(ITA) of the US Department of Commerce. the ITA then reviews trade related complaints with co-operation from the Office of General Counsel and the US Patent and Trademark Office. The complaint can not be in relation to disputes between companies on intellectual property rights, but must be about instances were a country has violated an international agreement with the United States. Complaints can be made in relation to the intellectual property law of the country, judicial or administrative procedures that discriminate against the US company, and failure to enforce intellectual property laws, particularly in relation to trade in counterfeit
goods, and lately online copyright infringement
. Complaints do not need to references specific international agreements or provisions that are being breached. Complaints will focus on a country's failure to protect the intellectual property rights of a US company or lack of intellectual property rights relates market access. Complaints are expected to include a description of the efforts the company has made to enforce its intellectual property rights in that country and provide estimates of economic losses resulting from the infingement of intellectual property rights in that country.
Most countries included in the Priority Watch List and Watch List between 1996 and 2000 were requested by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
or International Intellectual Property Alliance
. According to Andres Guadamuz from the University of Edinburgh
the International Intellectual Property Alliance
(IIPA) representing the US media industry were urging the United States government to consider countries like Indonesia
, Brazil
and India
to be put on the Special 301 Watchlist in early 2010. The IIPA requested them to be put on the Watchlist because they mandated or suggested the use of open source
software.
, and MSF
made submissions to the USTR..
(IIPA) the Special 301 Report and the Watchlists is used to pressure other nations to adopt stricter copyright laws and take a more active role in combating Copyright infringements.
owners, most often large corporations, against any foreign national policy or unofficial action that does not conform, even in its domestic legislation, to the United States' position on international copyright and IP. Threat of action under Special 301 has been used to insert US trade lobby backed advisers into states' domestic legislative process in order to ensure compliance with US trade norms. One of the most direct examples comes from a former US trade lobbyist, speaking in 1993:
Such methods of drafting national-level legislation inevitably raise questions about undue influence from the private sector. Lobbyists for the IP industry have been successful in their efforts to secure legal backing in foreign countries to already existing regimes such as TRIPS, and private corporations are now able to act as watchdogs to foreign national legislation on behalf of the US government.
, since it restricts normal practices by threat of use of economic force.
discovered that the International Intellectual Property Alliance
(IIPA) representing the U.S. media industry is urging the United States government to consider countries like Indonesia
, Brazil
and India
to be put on the Special 301 watchlist because of them mandating or suggesting the use of open source
software, somehow considering it as a harmful act roughly equivalent to not combating piracy
, and not taking into account that also many of the U.S. companies that the IIPA represents depend on using open source software in their own business.
or International Intellectual Property Alliance
. For example, Finland was blacklisted in retaliation to unanimously adopted legistlation requiring the tax-funded Social Insurance Institution
to reimburse the cost of medications only up to the price of the cheapest generic. Intellectual property is not violated, as this affects all manufacturers equally. This retaliatory measure has had a negative impact on investment decisions unrelated to pharmaceuticals.
Office of the United States Trade Representative
The Office of the United States Trade Representative is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the president of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade...
(USTR) under Section 301 as amended of the Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
. The reports identify trade barriers to US companies and products due to the intellectual property laws, such as copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
, patents and trademarks, in other countries. Each year the USTR must identify countries which do not provide "adequate and effective" protection of intellectual property rights or "fair and equitable market access to United States person that rely upon intellectual property rights". Under the Special 301 provisions, amended into Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the USTR must also undertake annual surveys of foreign countries' intellectual property laws and policies. The Special 201 Report was first published in 1989. In 2011 12 countries were placed on the Priority Watch List, and 28 on the Watch List.
Report and investigation mechanism
Under Section 301 of the amended Trade Act of 1974Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
the USTR must by April 30th fo each year:
"identify (1) those foreign countries that (A) deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights, or (B) deny fair and equitable markets access to United States persons that rely upon intellectual property protection, and (2) those foreign countries identified under paragraph (1) that are determined by the Trade Representative to be priority foreign countries".
The Act defines "priority foreign countries" as:
"those foreign countries - (A) that have the most onerous or egregious acts, policies, or practices that (i) deny adequate and effective intellectual property rights, or (ii) deny fair and equitable market access to United States persons that rely upon intellectual property protection, (B) whose acts, policies, or practices described in subparagraph (A) have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on the relevant United States products, and (C) that are not (i) entering into good faith negotiations, or (ii) making significant progress in bilateral or multilateral negotiations to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights".
The Uruguay Round Agreement Act furthermore states that countries may be identified under Special 301 "taking into account the history of intellectual property laws and practices of the foreign country, including any previous identifications" and "the history of efforts of the United States, and the response of the foreign country, to achieve adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights". It also states that compliance with the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...
(TRIPS) does not preclude a country from being identified as denying "adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights".
The USTR acts on the information available at the time and can identify new "priority foreign countries" on an annual basis. The Special 301 Sub-Committee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee conducts additional reviews throughout the year for countries that "merit additional monitoring". The Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
requires that the USTR must start investigations within 30 days of a country being identified as "priority foreign country", unless the USTR concludes that such an investigation "would be detrimental to United States economic interests". Unless the "priority foreign country" is regarded as being in breach of a trade agreement, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...
(TRIPS), investigations must conclude within six months, with the possibility of a three months extension. Reasons for extension include "substantial progress in drafting or implementing legislative or administrative measures that will provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights" by the "priority foreign country". If the USTR believes that a trade agreement is being breached the USTR must conclude the investigation within 18 months, or within 30 days after the "dispute settlement procedure" has finished. If the USTR concludes that a trade agreement is being breached, "retaliation actions" may be taken under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
.
Retaliation Under Special 301
In response to countries being included on the Special 301 Report Watchlists the US Government may initiate dispute settlement proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or other relevant trade agreement, including the North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA). The US Government can also eliminate tariff preferences unilaterally granted, such as the Generalized System of Preferences
Generalized System of Preferences
The Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization ,...
(GSP).
If the US investigation concludes that a country has violated a trade agreement Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
allows the US Government to impose unilateral trade sanctions if the country is not member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) or any other trade agreement establishing dispute settlement provisions, such as free trade agreements, which are relevant to the alleged violation. Unilateral trade sanctions under section 301 were imposed on December 20, 2001 on the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
by imposing a prohibitive tariff on metals, footwear and other imports because the USTR concluded that the country had failed to enact legislation to enforce copyright in relation to music Compact Discs (CDs) and the export of these CDs.
Priority Watch List and Watch List Countries
Two non-statutory categories have been created in addition to the statutory category of "priority foreign country", which once identified as such needs to be investigated and if found in breach with a trade agreement is subject to possible "retaliation actions" under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
. "Priority Watch List" and "Watch List" countries are identified by the annual Special 301 Report. "Priority Watchlist countries" are judged by the USTR as having "serious intellectual property rights deficiencies" that require increased USTR attention. "Watch List" countries have been identified by the USTR as having "serious intellectual property rights deficiencies" but are not yet placed on the "Priority Watchlist". The USTR can move countries from one list to the other, or remove them from the lists, throughout the year.
WTO dispute settlement proceedings
The USTR has used the Special 301 Reports to initiate formal dispute settlement proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if it believes a country does not comply with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property RightsAgreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property regulation as applied to nationals of other WTO Members...
(TRIPS). WTO dispute settlement proceedings are initiated when the country's noncompliance with TRIPS is judged to be too narrow to make the country a "priority foreign country". The countries against which the USTR intends to pursue dispute settlement proceedings are announced every April in the Special 301 Report.
Special 301 Sub-Committee
The Special 301 Sub-Committee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) advices the US Trade Representative on which countries to designate as "priority foreign countries" or to include in the Watchlists. The Special 301 Sub-Committee is chaired by the Office of the United States Trade RepresentativeOffice of the United States Trade Representative
The Office of the United States Trade Representative is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the president of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade...
(USTR) and its members include the Department of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
, the Copyright Office, the Council of Economic Advisers, and other agencies. US companies provide extensive comments in the annual National Trade estimates Report. The Special 301 Sub-Committee also takes the views of foreign governments and the views of US embassies on intellectual property rights.
Complaints by US companies
US companies and intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
owners, including copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
, patents and trademarks, can submit complaints to the Trade Compliance Centre, which provides a template for such complaints, or the country or industry desk at the International Trade Administration
International Trade Administration
The International Trade Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that promotes United States exports of nonagricultural U.S...
(ITA) of the US Department of Commerce. the ITA then reviews trade related complaints with co-operation from the Office of General Counsel and the US Patent and Trademark Office. The complaint can not be in relation to disputes between companies on intellectual property rights, but must be about instances were a country has violated an international agreement with the United States. Complaints can be made in relation to the intellectual property law of the country, judicial or administrative procedures that discriminate against the US company, and failure to enforce intellectual property laws, particularly in relation to trade in counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
goods, and lately online copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. Complaints do not need to references specific international agreements or provisions that are being breached. Complaints will focus on a country's failure to protect the intellectual property rights of a US company or lack of intellectual property rights relates market access. Complaints are expected to include a description of the efforts the company has made to enforce its intellectual property rights in that country and provide estimates of economic losses resulting from the infingement of intellectual property rights in that country.
Most countries included in the Priority Watch List and Watch List between 1996 and 2000 were requested by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America , founded in 1958, is a trade group representing the pharmaceutical research and biopharmaceutical companies in the United States. PhRMA's stated mission is advocacy for public policies that encourage the discovery of new medicines for patients...
or International Intellectual Property Alliance
International Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance , formed in 1984, is a private sector coalition of seven trade associations representing U.S...
. According to Andres Guadamuz from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
the International Intellectual Property Alliance
International Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance , formed in 1984, is a private sector coalition of seven trade associations representing U.S...
(IIPA) representing the US media industry were urging the United States government to consider countries like Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to be put on the Special 301 Watchlist in early 2010. The IIPA requested them to be put on the Watchlist because they mandated or suggested the use of open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software.
NGO submissions
In 2010 NGOs such as PhRMA, OxfamOxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
, and MSF
MSF
MSF may refer to:* Mail Summary File , file extension used by Earthlink, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Netscape mail clients to store folder data in Mork.* Marvel Super Heroes vs...
made submissions to the USTR..
Impact of Special 301 Reports
According to the International Intellectual Property AllianceInternational Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance , formed in 1984, is a private sector coalition of seven trade associations representing U.S...
(IIPA) the Special 301 Report and the Watchlists is used to pressure other nations to adopt stricter copyright laws and take a more active role in combating Copyright infringements.
Special 301 Report 2011
The Special 301 Report 2011 placed the following countries on the Priority Watch List: Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, India, Israel, Indonesia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Venezuela. The following countries were placed on the Watch List: Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Romania, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam. Paraguay was made subject to Section 306 Monitoring.Lobby power
Peter Drahos has called the Special 301 Report "a public law devoted to the service of private corporate interests." It explicitly protects and acts in favour of US intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
owners, most often large corporations, against any foreign national policy or unofficial action that does not conform, even in its domestic legislation, to the United States' position on international copyright and IP. Threat of action under Special 301 has been used to insert US trade lobby backed advisers into states' domestic legislative process in order to ensure compliance with US trade norms. One of the most direct examples comes from a former US trade lobbyist, speaking in 1993:
"Jamaica had no intellectual property law, but they wrote one (with our help). Similarly the Dominican Republic. I sat down with their lawyer and together we wrote their copyright law."
Such methods of drafting national-level legislation inevitably raise questions about undue influence from the private sector. Lobbyists for the IP industry have been successful in their efforts to secure legal backing in foreign countries to already existing regimes such as TRIPS, and private corporations are now able to act as watchdogs to foreign national legislation on behalf of the US government.
Cultural restriction and imperialism
Special 301 allows for a process that sends a warning to countries that are not co-operating with international copyright norms (read: US norms), and in extremis allows the USTR to initiate "retaliatory action" such as trade sanctions. Such actions may qualify as forced compliance with a norm that may not be part of the target country's cultural composition in the first place, leading to claims of cultural imperialismCultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism is the domination of one culture over another. Cultural imperialism can take the form of a general attitude or an active, formal and deliberate policy, including military action. Economic or technological factors may also play a role...
, since it restricts normal practices by threat of use of economic force.
Opposition to open source
Andres Guadamuz, a lecturer in law at the University of EdinburghUniversity of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
discovered that the International Intellectual Property Alliance
International Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance , formed in 1984, is a private sector coalition of seven trade associations representing U.S...
(IIPA) representing the U.S. media industry is urging the United States government to consider countries like Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to be put on the Special 301 watchlist because of them mandating or suggesting the use of open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software, somehow considering it as a harmful act roughly equivalent to not combating piracy
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
, and not taking into account that also many of the U.S. companies that the IIPA represents depend on using open source software in their own business.
Trade warring
Most countries included in the Priority Watch List and Watch List between 1996 and 2000 were requested by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of AmericaPharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America , founded in 1958, is a trade group representing the pharmaceutical research and biopharmaceutical companies in the United States. PhRMA's stated mission is advocacy for public policies that encourage the discovery of new medicines for patients...
or International Intellectual Property Alliance
International Intellectual Property Alliance
The International Intellectual Property Alliance , formed in 1984, is a private sector coalition of seven trade associations representing U.S...
. For example, Finland was blacklisted in retaliation to unanimously adopted legistlation requiring the tax-funded Social Insurance Institution
KELA
Kela, or Kansaneläkelaitos , also FPA or Folkpensionsanstalten , and SII or Social Insurance Institution , is a Finnish government agency in charge of settling benefits under national social security programs...
to reimburse the cost of medications only up to the price of the cheapest generic. Intellectual property is not violated, as this affects all manufacturers equally. This retaliatory measure has had a negative impact on investment decisions unrelated to pharmaceuticals.
See also
- Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA)
- Doha Development Round
- Generalized System of PreferencesGeneralized System of PreferencesThe Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization ,...
- International Trade AdministrationInternational Trade AdministrationThe International Trade Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that promotes United States exports of nonagricultural U.S...
- United States International Trade CommissionUnited States International Trade CommissionThe United States International Trade Commission is an independent, bi-partisan, quasi-judicial, federal agency of the United States that provides trade expertise to both the legislative and executive branches. Further, the agency determines the impact of imports on U.S...
- United States Commercial ServiceUnited States Commercial ServiceThe United States Commercial Service is the trade promotion arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, which helps U.S. companies succeed in markets around the world. Led by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General Suresh Kumar and located across the...
External links
- The Office of the United States Trade Representative Official website.
- Special 301 Report, 2011 The latest Report.
- Special 301 Reports, 1989-2010 Hosted at Knowledge Ecology International alongside supporting documents.