As we move into the second quarter of 2026, we’d like to share some information regarding some recent and ongoing legislative and policy-related matters.
IACC Leads Industry Coalition Urging Congressional Action on Customs Legislation
Earlier this month, the IACC delivered a letter to House leadership offices on both sides of the aisle, strongly urging Congress to bring HR 4930 (re: CBP authority to share information with private sector stakeholders) to the Floor for a vote. The bill, which was unanimously reported (40-0) by the House Ways & Means Committee back in December, has been an IACC priority this Congress. Unfortunately, at present it appears to be stalled due to the continued stalemate over DHS funding; we remain hopeful that the bill will pass before the end of the current session. We were joined by 18 other industry associations, highlighting support for the bill among rights-holders spanning the entire breadth of American businesses.
IACC Teams Up with Congressional Trademark Caucus to Highlight the Importance of IP to Collegiate Athletics
Two days before the tip-off for the Sweet 16, March Madness arrived on Capitol Hill in the form of a Congressional Trademark Caucus event focused on the importance of trademarks to college athletics, the investments made by global brands to support student athletes, and the challenges involved in protecting those valuable brands that help make it all possible.
The IACC was pleased to co-host this “lunch and learn” session, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, and the International Trademark Association.
Approximately 100 attendees, including Members of Congress, staff from Senate and House committees, and policymakers, joined us in person. CTC co-chairs, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Chris Coons, offered remarks; and the IACC’s own Deborah Robinson moderated a panel discussion that included IACC Board Member, Newton Vieira of Nike. Thanks to all of those who joined us; we look forward to announcing the next CTC event soon!
Australian Parliament to Consider Legislation Targeting Counterfeit Importation
We were recently alerted to the introduction of legislation in the Australian Parliament’s House of Representatives that would establish the importation of counterfeit goods as a strict liability offense in the country, punishable by a fine of approximately $20,000 (USD).
The IACC is currently reviewing this legislation – the Customs Legislation Amendment (False Trade Marks Infringement Notices) Bill 2026 – and would welcome members’ input regarding the same. A comprehensive summary of the bill is available here; the legislative text can be found here .
Please direct any feedback regarding the bill to Travis Johnson (tjohnson@iacc.org) no later than Friday, April 24th.
On March 3rd, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published its annual Notorious Markets List, highlighting a broad range of stakeholder concerns related to 32 physical markets across 19 countries, along with nearly 40 additional online markets reportedly engaging in or facilitating significant levels of trafficking of counterfeit and pirated goods. Most of the markets identified in this year’s report are well-known to rights-holders; many were recommended by the IACC in our comments to USTR this year, or in prior years’ submissions. USTR’s full report is available here and the IACC’s recommendations can be found here.
We are also eagerly awaiting USTR’s publication of its Special 301 Review, which will be arriving later this month. By statute, USTR is required to deliver its Special 301 report to Congress no later than the end of April each year. In light of that fact, we’re expecting it to be released the same week that we’ll be in Orlando for the upcoming IACC Annual Conference. While the Notorious Markets report focuses attention on specific outlets for counterfeit and pirated goods, the Special 301 report takes a more high-level look at deficiencies in the statutory, regulatory, and enforcement regimes of our trading partners around the world. This year, the IACC filed comments with USTR offered feedback on 31 countries spanning 5 continents, and highlighting a variety of challenges to effective IP protection and enforcement in those countries. We recommended 7 countries for placement on USTR’s “Priority Watch List” – Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, and Russia; and an additional 19 countries were recommended for the “Watch List.” We also highlighted concerns in 5 additional jurisdictions without a formal recommendation for placement on the Special 301 List.
