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Notice of Intellectual Property Symposium of the Americas (fwd)

[Federal Register: July 6, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 130)]
[Notices]                             [Page 41639-41641]
Taken from the Federal Register Online via GPO Access 
[wais.access.gpo.gov]                [DOCID:fr06jy00-46]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

United States Patent and Trademark Office

RIN 0651-ABXX

 
Notice of Intellectual Property Symposium of the Americas: 
Protecting Intellectual Property in the Digital Age

AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is
announcing that it will hold a two-day symposium on the enforcement 
of intellectual property in the Western Hemisphere.  The symposium 
is expected to provide an opportunity for high-ranking government
intellectual property officials and members of the business and
intellectual property communities in the Western Hemisphere to 
discuss and formulate an agenda for cooperation in the critical 
area of intellectual property enforcement.  Particular attention 
during the symposium will be paid to the Internet, Optical Media 
Piracy, and Business Software and Business Methods Patent 
enforcement issues, and to developing a basis for closer 
Hemispheric coordination in the enforcement of intellectual 
property rights generally. 

DATES: The symposium will be held on Monday, September 11, 2000, 
and Tuesday, September 12, 2000, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending 
at approximately 5:30 p.m. each day.  Due to security concerns, 
attendance at the symposium will be limited to 150 people.  Requests 
to attend the symposium must be made in writing no later than July 
31, 2000, and must comply with the requirements set forth in this 
notice.  Because seating is limited, only one request to participate 
per firm, agency or organization will be granted.  For purposes of 
determining eligibility, affiliates and subsidiaries in different 
countries will be considered separate organizations. 

ADDRESSES: The symposium will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City
Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202. 
Directions to the symposium location will be available inside the 
lobby of the Sheraton Crystal City. 

Requests to attend the symposium should be made to Doris Long by
electronic mail to soa2k@uspto.gov, by facsimile transmission marked 
to the attention of Doris Long at (877) 786-4220, or by mail marked 
to the attention of Doris Long and addressed to the Office of 
Legislative and International Affairs, United States Patent and 
Trademark Office, Box 4, Washington, DC 20231.  Symposium attendees 
will be accepted as their requests are received on a first-come, 
first-serve basis according to the time and date of receipt of each 
request, and subject to the restrictions that: (1) Only written 
requests will be accepted; (2) only one request (one person) per 
company, firm, agency or organization will be accepted (for purposes 
of determining eligibility, affiliates and subsidiaries in different 
countries will be considered separate organizations); (3) only 
requests which contain the information set forth below under 
``Further Registration Information'' will be accepted; and (4) only 
requests received on or before July 31, 2000, will be considered. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Long by telephone at 
(877) 786-4220; by electronic mail to soa2k@uspto.gov; by fax at 
(877) 786-4220; or by mail marked to her attention and addressed 
to the Office of Legislative and International Affairs, United 
States Patent and Trademark Office, Box 4, Washington, DC 20231. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

Over the past several decades, the global economy has undergone a 
fundamental change, where the principal engine of economic growth 
and job creation is not based on raw natural resources, but on the 
use of knowledge, ideas and innovation. From the Internet and 
E-commerce, to computer software and technology, countries 
increasingly rely on knowledge-based products and services to fuel 
their economic and technological growth. Intellectual property 
protection forms an integral part of any knowledge-based economy, 
since intellectual property laws traditionally serve as a source of 
protection for knowledge, ideas and innovation. At the same time, 
the rights of intellectual property owners are being increasingly 
threatened by the widespread use of the Internet and other digital 
technologies in facilitating global piracy.

As of January 1, 2000, most countries in the Western Hemisphere 
are obligated to have domestic laws and enforcement mechanisms that 
comply with the international standards set forth under the Agreement 
on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).  In 
order to assure continuing growth for the countries of the Western
Hemisphere, enforcement mechanisms must be designed to take into 
account the needs and issues of a knowledge-based economy and be 
built on traditional methodologies for enforcement of intellectual 
property rights against infringing physical goods and services.  
At the same time such mechanisms must be designed to combat the 
increasing use of the Internet and other digital technologies in 
the development and distribution of pirated and counterfeit goods. 

In light of the Hemispheric importance of effective intellectual 
property enforcement programs capable of dealing with the challenges 
posed by digital piracy, this symposium will feature structured 
dialogues and round-table discussions regarding cutting edge 
intellectual property enforcement policy issues. These discussions 
will occur between high-level government officials from every country 
in the Western Hemisphere with which the United States maintains 
diplomatic relations.

The goals of the symposium are:

    A. To assist government officials from the Western Hemisphere 
       in developing effective enforcement systems based on an 
       interdisciplinary approach in which civil, criminal, 
       administrative, and border (customs) measures work together 
       and separately to aid in protecting and enforcing intellectual 
       property rights in the Digital Age.

    B. To strengthen regional cooperation for the improvement of the 
       enforcement of intellectual property rights in order to meet 
       international treaty obligations, including those under TRIPS.

    C. To provide Western Hemisphere countries with a detailed review 
       of the emerging intellectual property treaty regimes of the 
       Digital Age.  Included among the topics would be the WIPO 
       Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, 
       and the enforcement requirements of TRIPS and NAFTA.

    D. To discuss ways to generally improve the enforcement of 
       intellectual property rights throughout the Hemisphere.

2. Draft Agenda

A draft agenda for the symposium is set forth below:

Intellectual Property Symposium of The Americas: Protecting 
Intellectual Property in The Digital Age

Monday, September 11

Plenary Round Table I
    E-Commerce and Other Strategies For Turning Intellectual Property 
    Protection into Investment Opportunities.

Break Out Round Table A
    Intellectual Property Rights and the Internet: Digital Distribution 
    and the Technological Threat to Intellectual Property.

Break Out Round Table B
    Establishing a Workable Enforcement System under TRIPS: Practical 
    Problems and Potential Solutions.

Break Out Round Table C
    Adapting ``Hard'' Goods Enforcement Techniques to Cyberspace.

Break Out Round Table D
    Legal and Technological Obstacles to Protecting Intellectual 
    Property in the Digital Age: Practical Problems and Realistic 
    Solution.

Break Out Round Table E
    Prevention v. Cure: Creating Effective Educational and Public 
    Awareness Enforcement Campaigns.

Break Out Round Table F
    Creating an Effective Enforcement Program With Limited Resources: 
    Some Models for Facilitating Information and Resource Sharing.

Break Out Round Table G
    Resolving Domain Name Problems in Cyberspace.

Break Out Round Table H
    Copyright and the WIPO Treaties: Protecting Content on the 
    Internet.

Tuesday, September 12

Plenary Round Table II
    Technology Transfers, Business Method Patents and the Pitfalls of 
    Licensing.

Break Out Round Table J
    Creating an Effective Enforcement Program for New Technologies: 
    Protecting Trade Secrets and Technology Patents.

Break Out Round Table K
    Trademark Counterfeiting and the Net: Enforcing Rights on the 
    Internet Frontier.

Plenary Round Table III
    Future Issues in Intellectual Property Enforcement: Technology 
    Patents and Confidential Information.

Plenary Round Table IV
    An Action Plan for the Future: A Dialogue Among the Participants 
    on Future Problems and Solutions.

3. Further Registration Information

This symposium, and all program-related materials, are offered free 
of charge. As noted above, due to security concerns, admission to the 
symposium will be limited to 150 participants who are pre-registered 
and whose registration has been accepted in accordance with the 
following guidelines:

    1.  Requests to attend the symposium should be made to Doris Long 
        by electronic mail to soa2k@uspto.gov, by facsimile transmission 
        marked to the attention of Doris Long at (877) 786-4220, or by 
	mail marked to the attention of Doris Long and addressed to the 
	Office of Legislative and International Affairs, United States 
	Patent and Trademark Office, Box 4, Washington, DC 20231. 

    2. All requests to attend must be in writing and must contain the 
       following information:

       A. Name;
       B. Company/ Firm/Agency or Organization Affiliation (if any);
       C. Mailing Address;
       D. Facsimile, or Email Address where notification of acceptance 
          of registration can be sent.

    3. Symposium attendees will be accepted as their requests are 
       received on a first-come, first-serve basis according to the 
       time and date of receipt of each request. To be considered 
       ``received,'' a request to attend must contain all of the 
       information required in this section; and must be received 
       on or before the July 3, 2000, application deadline.

    4. Only one request (one person) per company, firm, agency or 
       organization will be accepted. For purposes of determining 
       eligibility, affiliates and subsidiaries in different countries 
       will be considered separate organizations.

    5. It would be helpful for purposes of determining space needs, 
       but is not required, if the applicant would also indicate 
       which Break Out sessions he or she intends to attend. For 
       convenience, a registration form has been placed on the USPTO 
       web-site at <http://www.uspto.gov/>.


Dated: June 29, 2000.

Q. Todd Dickinson,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director 
of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 00-17030 Filed 7-5-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P

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