USA releases new IPEC plan of action to defend and enforce intellectual property, including for Pharma

Last week, Victoria Espinel, the US Barack Obama Administration's Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), released the "Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement" that Congress ordered when it created the IPEC position. The plan ' the results of a month-long public process - lays out 33 "enforcement action items" grouped in six categories.

Overall, the plan is chiefly about what the federal government can do to better coordinate its own enforcement efforts over a whole host of areas, such as blocking trafficking in counterfeit medicines, rooting out infringing software among federal contractors, and improving communication between federal and state enforcement agencies.

US Trade Representative Ron Kirk joined Vice President Biden, members of the President's cabinet and Ms Espinel to announce the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. The Obama Administration, including USTR, highlighting the need to safeguard US intellectual property because such protection is fundamental to safeguard American jobs, sustain American exports and strengthen the American economy.