IACC NEWS

U.S Legislative Updates

Below is a snapshot of the IACC’s policy advocacy efforts. If you have questions, please contact Travis Johnson directly at tjohnson@iacc.org. 

USTR Releases Annual Special 301 Report 

Last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published its Special 301 Report for 2024, highlighting the variety and severity of challenges faced by intellectual property owners in jurisdictions around the world. 

Each year, USTR – in coordination with partner agencies from across the Executive Branch – seeks to identify countries that fail to provide adequate or effective protection of IP rights, or that have imposed market access barriers that adversely impact American rights-holders. 

This year’s report included a total of 27 countries: 7 were placed on USTR’s Priority Watch List – designating jurisdictions with the most significant concerns; an additional 20 countries were designated as Watch List countries. 

USTR’s final determinations were largely unchanged from last year's report, and were consistent with many of the recommendations made by the IACC in January of this year; 17 of the 28 countries nominated by the IACC (including each of our 5 Priority Watch List recommendations) were included in USTR’s final report.

The IACC's recommendations are available here. 

We’d like to thank all of the IACC members who participated in this year’s process, whether by sharing their companies’ experiences in global markets, assisting in the drafting of comments for individual country chapters, or by providing additional information for follow-on requests from the interagency team. 

The Special 301 review provides a valuable opportunity each year for rights-holders to highlight their priorities and to draw attention to the unique challenges they face.

If you’re interested in learning more about how the IACC works to provide member brands with a voice in USTR’s annual processes, or would like to participate in next year’s effort, please contact Travis Johnson (tjohnson@iacc.org) directly at your convenience.

IACC Celebrates International Women's Day

International Women’s Day was March 8th and we continued to showcase the causes and organizations in which our Women IP Warriors are passionate about. It was an opportunity for us to celebrate their contributions and raise awareness for the causes that matter most to them.

UPCOMING EVENTS

IACC Annual Conference

May 15-17, 2024 - Orlando, FL

There is still time to join us! We look forward to welcoming back brands, government and top IP professionals to engage, collaborate and network with each other. View our UDPATED DRAFT AGENDA to help you plan. 

TOOLS, RESOURCES & INFORMATION

Tips for IP Protection in China - Copyright

 (Additional Section in our SME Brand Protection Toolkit)

Check out the new topic in our SME Brand Protection Toolkit - Tips for IP Protection in China, provided by Heng Li, Counsel, Senior Analyst at IACC. We will continue to highlight new topics in each Quarterly Newsletter. For this quarter, we are focusing on the "Protecting Works of Applied Art through Copyright" process in China.

Protecting Works of Applied Art through Copyright

Works of applied art refer to artistic designs created for practical objects in everyday use, including industrial designs, fashion designs, furniture designs and more. This term is used to distinguish applied arts from fine arts, the latter being those that produce objects with no practical use beyond providing aesthetic appeal. Consequently, works of applied art exhibit two fundamental characteristics—utility and artistic expression. In China, current intellectual property laws primarily protect works of applied art through two domains: patent law and copyright law.

Read More

Ad opportunities in our newsletters are available and are limited to IACC members. Bulk pricing available. Contact Dawn Sgarlata at dsgarlata@iacc.org.

IP Resources from Our Members

We are excited to include this Resource Section in our Quarterly Newsletter where we share interesting insights, research studies, white papers and other thought pieces from our members  around the world. Members interested in submitting relevant material for our next newsletter should contact Dawn Sgarlata at dsgarlata@iacc.org.

Disclaimer: The IACC is providing these links as a courtesy to our members; the IACC has not independently verified any claims or assertions contained therein. Further, the views expressed in each of the linked resources are those of the respective authors, and their inclusion should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the IACC.

Anti-Counterfeiting & Brand Protection Strategy

AlpVision

Exploring NFT Applications for Protecting Physical Products

As the digital and physical worlds converge, blockchain-based Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) offer a novel method for securing ownership of digital assets. Discover the potential use cases of NFTs in anti-counterfeiting, as well as their benefits, and challenges for brands. 

Advancing Barcode Strategies in Anti-Counterfeiting

Counterfeiting poses a threat at every stage of a product's life cycle, often eluding detection through conventional barcode tracking. While barcodes like QR and data-matrix provide traceability, they fall short as standalone security measures. For stronger brand protection, it’s crucial to establish a multi-layered defense that’s tough for counterfeiters to crack.

ApiraSol

Global Trade of Diabetes Care Devices and Supplies: Investigating Counterfeiting, Product Diversion and Sub-standard Trade

With increasing sedentary lifestyles, the market for diabetes care devices grows almost 10% every year, attracting counterfeiters and criminals. Counterfeit diabetes care devices do not meet safety and quality standards, putting the health and safety of patients with diabetes at risk.

Illicit Trade in the Tobacco Industry

Illicit-whites in Central America, top origin countries and brands.

Consumer Behavior

Stobbs

The Psychology of Lookalikes

A report that examines the comprehensive body of consumer and broader behavioral science research on lookalike (copycat) products and their impact on consumers.

General IP Enforcement

Cervieri Monsuarez

Case Study - 25K counterfeit bearings seized in an import and wholesale company

Online Enforcement and Trends

EverC

A Report on Trends for Marketplaces and Payment Providers

Globalization and digital transformation have catalyzed an atmosphere of escalating threats and intensified regulatory scrutiny for the ecommerce ecosystem. In this report, which is based on proprietary research and data, our experts examine these trends and how they will impact the future of the industry. 

IACC Programs and Tools

IACC Membership Information
Member Benefits
Membership for SMEs

IACC Online Enforcement Program
IACC MarketSafe Program
IACC-Amazon Program
RogueBlock®

IACC Law Enforcement Training Program
U.S. Trainings
Law Enforcement Training App

Other Resources

IACC SME Brand Protection Toolkit

IP Experts Directory