Request of the United States Patent and Trademark Office for Public Comments: Voluntary Best Practices Study

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Today, the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) released the Administration's Joint Strategic Plan for Intellectual Property Enforcement. The Strategy notes that the Administration encourages the private sector to help reduce intellectual property infringement that occurs online--such as copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting--by developing and implementing cooperative, voluntary initiatives that are practical, effective and consistent with due process, free speech, privacy of users and competition. The Administration encourages all participants in such voluntary initiatives to continue cooperating with all interested stakeholders to ensure that the initiatives are as effective and transparent as possible. (The 2013 Joint Strategic Plan for Intellectual Property Enforcement is available at http:// www.whitehouse.gov/omb/intellectualproperty/ipec.) Consistent with the Administration's policy of building a data- driven government, the Strategy stresses the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of the voluntary initiatives encouraged by the Administration. The Strategy also notes that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will solicit input