Commentary from the Center for Innovation, Trade, and Strategy
The Criminal Bias in U.S. Intellectual Property Diplomacy
Mark Cohen argues that a lack of balance created by an excessive focus in trade diplomacy on criminal remedies can manifest itself as a “bias” that disadvantages the leading role played by civil remedies in actual enforcement. He concludes that this appears to be the current situation in the United States with respect to the protection of intellectual property (IP) and warns of the risks of unbalanced trade diplomacy.
Today, “IP infringement” and “IP theft” coexist as two terms that describe different behaviors and often demand different remedies. The terms overlap but also conflate approaches to enforcing intellectual property. IP infringement covers all forms of intellectual property misappropriation. IP theft implicitly focuses on criminal remedies but also covers other actions such as hacking of computer systems and state-directed forced technology transfer. An effective IP-enforcement regime needs a robust set of remedies appropriate to the type of right and the infringing conduct. A lack of balance created by an excessive focus in trade diplomacy on criminal remedies can manifest itself as a “bias” that disadvantages the leading role played by civil remedies in actual enforcement. This appears to be the current situation in the United States.
Read more at
https://www.nbr.org/publication/the-criminal-bias-in-u-s-intellectual-property-diplomacy/
