[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 191 (Monday, October 5, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51215-51216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23872]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
2009 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Reviews of Fiji, Israel, the
Philippines, Poland, and Saudi Arabia: Identification of Countries
Under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974: Request for Public Comment
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.
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SUMMARY: Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C.
2242) requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to
identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of
intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market
access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection.
(The provisions of Section 182 are commonly referred to as the
``Special 301'' provisions of the Trade Act.) The USTR is required to
determine which, if any, of these countries should be identified as
Priority Foreign Countries. In addition, USTR has created a ``Priority
Watch List'' and ``Watch List'' under Special 301 provisions. Placement
of a trading partner on the Priority Watch List or Watch List indicates
that particular problems exist in that country with respect to IPR
protection, enforcement, or market access for persons relying on
intellectual property. Countries placed on the Priority Watch List are
the focus of increased bilateral attention concerning the problem
areas.
In the 2009 Special 301 Report (http://www.ustr.gov), USTR
announced that, in order to monitor progress on specific IPR issues,
Out-of-Cycle Reviews would be conducted for Fiji, Israel, the
Philippines, Poland, and Saudi Arabia. USTR requests written
submissions from the public concerning any act, policy, or practice
that is relevant to the decision regarding whether Fiji, Israel, the
Philippines, Poland, and Saudi Arabia should be identified under
Section 182 of the Trade Act.
DATES: Submissions from the general public must be received on or
before 10 a.m. on Monday, November 9, 2009. Foreign governments who
chose to make written submissions may do so on or before 10 a.m. on
Monday, November 23, 2009.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be sent electronically to http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0001. Submissions should
contain the term ``2009 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review'' in the ``Type
comment & Upload file'' field on http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Choe Groves, Senior Director
for Intellectual Property and Innovation and Chair of the Special 301
Committee, Office of the United States Trade Representative, at (202)
395-4510.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act,
USTR must identify those countries that deny adequate and effective
protection for intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable
market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property
protection. Those countries that have the most onerous or egregious
acts, policies, or practices and whose acts, policies, or practices
have the greatest adverse impact (actual or potential) on relevant U.S.
products are to be identified as Priority Foreign Countries. Acts,
policies, or practices that are the basis of a country's designation as
a Priority Foreign Country are normally the subject of an investigation
under the Section 301 provisions of the Trade Act. USTR may not
identify a country as a Priority Foreign Country if that country is
entering into good faith negotiations or making significant progress in
bilateral or multilateral negotiations to provide adequate and
effective protection of intellectual property rights. In addition, USTR
has created a ``Priority Watch List'' and ``Watch List'' under Special
301 provisions. Placement of a trading partner on the Priority Watch
List or Watch List indicates that particular problems exist in that
country with respect to IPR protection, enforcement, or market access
for persons relying on intellectual property. Countries placed on the
Priority Watch List are the focus of increased bilateral attention
concerning the problem areas.
USTR requests that, where relevant, submissions mention particular
regions, provinces, states, or other subdivisions of a country in which
an act, policy, or practice deserve special attention. Submissions may
report positive or negative developments with respect to these
entities.
Requirements for comments: Comments should include a description of
the problems experienced by the submitter and the effect of the acts,
policies, and practices on U.S. industry. Comments should be as
detailed as possible and should provide all necessary information for
assessing the effect of the acts, policies, and practices. Any comments
that include quantitative loss claims should be accompanied by the
methodology used in calculating such estimated losses. Comments must be
in English. All comments should be sent electronically to http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2009-0001.
To submit comments to http://www.regulations.gov, enter docket
number USTR-2009-0001 on the home page and click ``search.'' The site
will provide a search-results page listing all documents associated
with this docket. Find a reference to this notice by selecting
``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the search-
results page, and click on the link entitled ``Submit a comment.'' (For
further information on using the http://www.regulations.gov website,
please consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on
``How to Use This Site'' on the left side of the home page).
The http://www.regulations.gov site provides the option of
providing comments by filling in a ``Type comment & Upload file''
field, or by attaching a document. It is expected that most comments
will be provided in an attached document. If a document is attached, it
is sufficient to type ``See attached'' in the ``Type comment & Upload
file'' field. However, all submissions should contain the term ``2009
Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review'' in the ``General Comments'' field.
A person requesting that information contained in a comment
submitted by that person be treated as confidential business
information must certify that such information is business confidential
and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter.
Confidential business information must be clearly designated as such,
the submission must be marked ``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' at the top and
bottom of the cover page and each succeeding page, and should indicate
using brackets the specific information which is confidential. Any
comment containing business confidential information must be
accompanied by a non-confidential summary of the confidential
information. The non-confidential summary will be placed in the docket
and open to public inspection.
USTR will maintain a docket on the 2009 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle
Review, accessible to the public. The public file will include non-
confidential comments received by USTR from the public, including
foreign governments, with respect to the 2009 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle
Review.
Public inspection of submissions: Comments will be placed in the
docket and open to public inspection pursuant
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to 15 CFR 2006.13, except confidential business information exempt from
public inspection in accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15. Comments may be
viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov website by entering docket
number USTR-2009-0001 in the search field on the home page.
Stanford K. McCoy,
Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation.
[FR Doc. E9-23872 Filed 10-2-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W9-P