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 SECTION I. DEVELOPMENTS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT

An important mission of USTR is to support and implement the Administration's commitment to vigorously protect the interests of American holders of IPR in other countries while preserving the incentives that ensure access to, and widespread dissemination of, the fruits of innovation and creativity. IPR infringement, including trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, causes significant financial losses for rights holders and legitimate businesses around the world. It undermines U.S. comparative advantages in innovation and creativity, to the detriment of American businesses and workers. In its most pernicious forms, IPR infringement endangers the public. Some counterfeit products, including semiconductors, automobile parts, and medicines, pose significant risks to consumer health and safety. In addition, trade in counterfeit and pirated products often fuels cross-border organized criminal networks and hinders sustainable economic development in many countries.

Because fostering innovation and creativity is essential to U.S. prosperity, competitiveness, and the support of an estimated 40 million U.S. jobs that directly or indirectly rely on IPR-intensive industries, USTR works to protect American innovation and creativity with all the tools of U.S. trade policy, including through this Report.

Positive Developments

The United States welcomes the following important developments in 2014 and early 2015:

 High-level planning documents issued by the Government of China in 2014 and 2015 articulated a commitment to protect and enforce IPR, to allow industry and entrepreneurs a greater voice in policy development, and to allow market mechanisms to play a greater role in guiding research and development (R&D) efforts. China has also continued an ongoing overhaul of its intellectual property laws. The United States welcomes pro-innovation statements by China, and urges China to continue to engage with foreign governments and stakeholders and to ensure that legal and regulatory reforms adhere to these articulated principles.

Administrative enforcement reforms in the Philippines have resulted in streamlined procedures, enhanced inter-agency cooperation, and more enforcement action, including increased seizures of pirated and counterfeit goods. 

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