USPTO seeks feedback on counterfeits and piracy

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is inviting comments from the public regarding effective anticounterfeiting and antipiracy strategies, and will also hold a free-to-attend roundtable meeting in October to get further feedback.

The organisation says it wants to hear from consumers, intellectual property rights holders, representatives of online and physical marketplaces and platforms, and other private sector stakeholders to help guide its future strategy and activities in this area.

Among the topics up for discussion at the roundtable are the recent evolution and growth in counterfeiting and piracy, the types of harms that have been observed from the sale of counterfeit and pirated products, and successful anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy strategies.

It is also hoping to hear about successful collaborative efforts between public and private partnerships and technological solutions that are being used effectively to stem the flow of counterfeit and pirated products into the market.

“Counterfeit and pirated products are readily available to US consumers through all forms of commerce, including physical markets, ecommerce, and social media sites,” said the USPTO.

“Many of these products endanger public health and safety as well as national security, and their presence is growing,” it added, pointing to figures from the US Customs and Border Protection data showing that the value of fake products from over 27,000 seizures in 2021 were valued at more than $3.3bn, an increase of 152% over the previous year.

“The trade in counterfeit and pirated products negatively impacts American innovation and erodes the competitiveness of US manufacturers and workers,” continued the USPTO.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce, digital video piracy conservatively causes lost domestic revenues of at least $29bn, and possibly as much as $71bn, every year.

You can register for the roundtable, which will take place at the USPTO site in Alexandria, Virginia on October 3 and virtually, at https://web.cvent.com/event/656d5a1c-fae5-43af-80fa-c8bc35b8fef2/summary before 2pm ET on September 25.