EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The "Special 301" Report is the result of an annual review of the state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement in trading partners around world, which the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) conducts pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
This Report reflects the Administration's continued resolve to encourage and maintain adequate and effective IPR protection and enforcement worldwide. It identifies a wide range of concerns, including the continued deterioration in IPR protection, enforcement, and market access for persons relying on IPR in Ukraine; the growing problem of misappropriation of trade secrets in China and elsewhere; troubling "indigenous innovation" policies that may unfairly disadvantage U.S. rights holders in China; the continuing challenges of copyright piracy over the Internet in countries such as Brazil, Italy, and Russia; and other ongoing, systemic IPR enforcement issues presented in many trading partners around the world.
USTR looks forward to working closely with the governments of the trading partners that are identified in this year's Special 301 Report, to address both emerging and continuing concerns, and to continue to build on the positive results that many of these governments have achieved.
Public Engagement
USTR continued its enhanced approach to public engagement activities in this year's Special 301 process. These activities are designed to help facilitate sound, well-balanced assessments of IPR protection and enforcement efforts of particular trading partners, and to help ensure that Special 301 decisions are based on a robust understanding of the complicated IPR issues that various trading partners may encounter.
USTR requested written submissions from the public through a notice published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2012. This year's notice yielded 41 comments from interested parties, and 17 submissions from trading partners. The submissions that USTR received were made available to the public online at www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2012-0022. In addition, on February 20, 2013, USTR conducted a public hearing that allowed interested persons to testify before the interagency Special 301 subcommittee about issues relevant to the review. The hearing featured testimony from 13 witnesses, including representatives of foreign governments, industry, and non-governmental organizations. A transcript of the hearing is available at www.ustr.gov.
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