Supporting Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise: Charting a Path Ahead

Title III of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-403 (the “PRO-IP Act,” or the “Act”), mandates a coordinated approach to intellectual property enforcement policy. The Act requires development of a three-year National plan on enforcement of laws protecting copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and other forms of intellectual property, with an emphasis on combatting counterfeit and infringing goods in the domestic and international supply chains.

Raising public awareness and developing effective solutions begins with a detailed understanding of the nature of the problem presented. To advance a detailed understanding, the Act places special emphasis on teasing out the dimensions of the overall problem as part of the strategy-setting process. Specifically, the Act places as a core objective of the Strategic Plan the need to identify “structural weaknesses,” “systemic flaws,” and other “impediments” to effective IPR enforcement actions against the financing, production, trafficking, or sale of counterfeit or infringing goods.

The Strategic Plan is organized and divided into four main sections:

Section 1 provides an overview of how intellectual property serves as a material force behind U.S. economic growth, high-paying jobs, economic competitiveness, and creative expression.
Section 2 focuses on illicit IP-based activity in the online (digital) environment
Section 3 focuses on strategies designed to facilitate secure and lawful trade domestically and abroad.
Section 4 examines broader IP enforcement strategies
that bridge both online and trade-based threats, focusing on overarching governmental frameworks and policies that are critical to supporting robust intellectual property enforcement efforts in a rapidly changing environment.