[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73264-73266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25326]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No. PTO-C-2020-0044]
Development of a National Consumer Awareness Campaign on
Combating the Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Products
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
[[Page 73265]]
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: On January 24, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
released its Report to the President of the United States titled
``Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods'' (DHS
Report). The report was prepared in response to the April 3, 2019,
Presidential Memorandum titled ``Memorandum on Combating Trafficking in
Counterfeit and Pirated Goods'' (Presidential Memorandum). Among the
action items identified in the DHS Report was action 11, titled
``Establish a National Consumer Awareness Campaign.'' To start
implementation of this action item, the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking information from stakeholders,
including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights holders,
online third-party marketplaces, third-party intermediaries, and other
private sector stakeholders, on the development of a National Consumer
Awareness Campaign on Combating the Trafficking in Counterfeit and
Pirated Products as a public-private partnership.
DATES: Comments must be received by 5 p.m. ET on January 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and responses to the questions below
by one of the following methods:
(a) Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (at the
homepage, enter ``PTO-T-2020-0044'' in the ``Search'' box, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments). The materials in the docket will not be edited
to remove identifying or contact information, and the USPTO cautions
against including any information in an electronic submission that the
submitter does not want publicly disclosed. Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel or Adobe PDF
formats only. Comments containing references to studies, research, and
other empirical data that are not widely published should include
copies of the referenced materials. Please do not submit additional
materials. If you want to submit a comment with business confidential
information that you do not wish to be made public, submit the comment
as a written/paper submission in the manner detailed below.
(b) Written/Paper Submissions: Send all written/paper submissions
to: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mail Stop OPIA, P.O. Box
1450, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Submission packaging should clearly
indicate that materials are responsive to Docket No. PTO-T-2020-0044,
Office of Policy and International Affairs, Comment Request;
Development of a National Consumer Awareness Campaign on Combating the
Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Products.
Submissions of Business Confidential Information: Any submissions
containing business confidential information must be delivered in a
sealed envelope marked ``confidential treatment requested'' to the
address listed above. Submitters should provide an index listing the
document(s) or information they would like the Department of Commerce
to withhold. The index should include information such as numbers used
to identify the relevant document(s) or information, document title and
description, and relevant page numbers and/or section numbers within a
document. Submitters should provide a statement explaining their
grounds for objecting to the disclosure of the information to the
public as well. The USPTO also requests that submitters of business
confidential information include a non-confidential version (either
redacted or summarized) of those confidential submissions that will be
available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
In the event that the submitter cannot provide a non-confidential
version of its submission, the USPTO requests that the submitter post a
notice in the docket stating that it has provided the USPTO with
business confidential information. Should a submitter fail to either
docket a non-confidential version of its submission or post a notice
that business confidential information has been provided, the USPTO
will note the receipt of the submission on the docket with the
submitter's organization or name (to the degree permitted by law) and
the date of submission.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charisma Hampton, USPTO, Office of
Policy and International Affairs, at [email protected]. Please
direct media inquiries to the Office of the Chief Communications
Officer, USPTO, at 571-272-8400.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DHS Report describes how the rapid
growth of e-commerce platforms, ``further catalyzed by online third-
party marketplaces connected to the platforms, has revolutionized the
way products are bought and sold.'' \1\ However, this overall growth
``has facilitated online trafficking in counterfeit and pirated
goods.'' \2\ American consumers shopping on e-commerce platforms now
face a greater risk of purchasing counterfeits, including goods that
endanger the health and safety of unsuspecting consumers.
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\1\ DHS Report at 7, available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/20_0124_plcy_counterfeit-pirated-goods-report_01.pdf.
\2\ DHS Report at 7. Other sections of the DHS Report address
both trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, but action 9,
the subject of this Federal Register notice, is limited to trademark
counterfeits.
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Given the critical role that consumers can play in the battle
against online counterfeiting, the DHS Report recommends the
development of a national public-private awareness campaign to educate
consumers regarding the risks of counterfeit and pirated goods, as well
as the various ways consumers can spot counterfeit products.\3\
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\3\ See DHS Report at 33.
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The development of the DHS Report benefitted from extensive
interagency discussions that included DHS, the Department of Justice,
the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Department of
Commerce the Food and Drug Administration, the Office of the
Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, the Department of State,
and also outreach to, and comments from, numerous private sector
stakeholders. The USPTO, the International Trade Administration of the
Department of Commerce, and many other government agencies work to
combat counterfeit goods.
Request for Information:
The USPTO requests information from interested stakeholders,
including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights holders
affected by the sale of counterfeit goods offered through e-commerce
platforms, online third-party marketplaces, third-party intermediaries,
other entities with experience in public-private awareness campaigns,
and applicable government agencies.
Respondents may address any, all, or none of the following topics
and may address additional related issues that have implications for
establishing a national consumer awareness campaign designed to educate
consumers on the direct and indirect costs and risks of counterfeit and
pirated goods. Please identify, where possible, the subject(s) your
comments are intended to address.
Respondents may organize their submissions in any manner. Reminder:
Respondents have the burden to request that any information contained
in a submission be treated as business confidential information and
must certify that such information is business confidential and would
not customarily
[[Page 73266]]
be released to the public by the submitter. Business confidential
information must be clearly designated as such and provided only by
mail carrier as described above.
The USPTO welcomes all input relevant to the development of the
guidelines, action plans, strategies, and best practices for
establishing a public-private national consumer awareness campaign
designed to educate consumers on the direct and indirect costs and
risks of counterfeit and pirated goods. The USPTO specifically seeks
the following types of information utilized, or under development, by
any public or private entity:
(1) Educational curricula identifying direct and indirect harms
associated with sales of counterfeit and pirated products.
(2) Strategies to ensure consumers make informed purchasing
decisions.
(3) Public service advertisements (PSAs) targeted to social media
users.
(4) Methods to identify false and misleading information on e-
commerce pages.
(5) Alerts for high-risk products and automated warnings describing
health impacts.
(6) ``Red flag'' indicators for suspicious listings on e-commerce
platforms.
(7) Incentives to empower consumers to participate in monitoring,
detecting, and informing platforms and users of counterfeits.
Dated: November 7, 2020.
Andrei Iancu,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-25326 Filed 11-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P