The Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR), within the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, helps U.S. companies to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights (IPR) in foreign markets.

 

Office of Intellectual Property Rights

 

Trade Agreements and Compliance

The Office of Intellectual Property Rights (OIPR), within the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, helps U.S. companies to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights (IPR) in foreign markets. OIPR experts can suggest strategies to evaluate IPR problems encountered abroad and will work with other Washington agencies and embassies around the world to pursue a course of action for resolution. Working with partner offices, OIPR monitors countries' compliance with IPR-related trade agreement obligations to ensure that U.S. companies enjoy the full benefits of our trade agreements. Additionally, OIPR participates in multilateral and bilateral IPR working groups to promote U.S. IPR trade policy internationally and ensure that U.S. companies have access to open markets and adequate IPR protection and enforcement abroad.

OIPR has undertaken numerous activities to help U.S. companies protect and enforce their IPR, both in the United States and abroad. A few examples of the valuable resources and tools freely available to the public are:

www.StopFakes.gov and STOP! Hotline: OIPR and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assist companies by responding to IPR-related inquiries through the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP) hotline – 1-866-999-HALT – and by working with companies that come directly to OIPR.

Country IPR Toolkits: Country toolkits have been posted on embassy websites and on www.StopFakes.gov, and contain detailed information on protecting IPR in a number of markets, including, among others, Brazil, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, Russia, and Thailand.

International IPR Advisory Program: OIPR established a program with the American Bar Association through which U.S. small- and medium- sized companies can request a free, one-hour consultation with a volunteer attorney knowledgeable in both industry IPR issues and a particular country to learn how to protect and enforce their IPR, such as trademarks, patents, or copyrights, in that country. Expertise is now available for Angola, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Online IPR Training Module: The Department of Commerce's Office of Intellectual Property Rights worked with the PTO, Small Business Administration, and Foreign Commercial Service to develop an online training program for SMEs to learn how to evaluate, protect, and enforce their IPR. The program is available for free at www.StopFakes.gov, and is now in English, Spanish, and French.

For more information on how OIPR can help you, visit www.StopFakes.gov or call 202-482-0998.