coordination among all relevant U.S. Government agencies and U.S. trading partners to tackle this global problem. As part of STOP!, USTR continues to advocate the adoption of best practices guidelines for IPR enforcement.
As part of this effort, USTR, in coordination with other agencies, is introducing new initiatives in multilateral fora to improve the global intellectual property environment that will aid in disrupting the operations of pirates and counterfeiters. In addition to the ACTA effort described above, key initiatives have gained endorsement and are undergoing implementation in the G-8, the U.S.-EU Summit, the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) with Canada and Mexico, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Implementation of the U.S.-EU Action Strategy for IPR Enforcement has focused on addressing concerns in key countries such as China and Russia through closer coordination and information exchange, in addition to increasing customs cooperation and providing technical assistance to third countries. Through a bilateral working group, the two sides have established regular information exchanges on efforts to improve China's intellectual property climate, and have deepened their IPR-related cooperation in the context of Russia's WTO accession. The Parties have expanded this cooperative dynamic to other regions of the world including Southeast Asia and Latin America.
The Leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States launched the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) in 2005 to address issues related to economic competition resulting from shifting patterns of trade and investment worldwide. The governments subsequently established an Intellectual Property Working Group under the SPP. USTR, together with the Department of Commerce, jointly leads the U.S. delegation to the SPP IP Working Group. The SPP IP Working Group developed a trilateral Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan, which leaders announced at the SPP Summit in Montebello, Canada, in August 2007. The Action Plan constitutes a strategy for governments and the private sector to combat piracy and counterfeiting in North America. The governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States have agreed to take action in three areas: (1) detecting and deterring trade in counterfeit and pirated goods; (2) increasing consumer awareness of the adverse effects of counterfeiting and piracy; and (3) measuring the depth and scope of counterfeiting and piracy.
Through efforts by the United States, APEC endorsed the "Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative" in 2005, which paved the way for the adoption of a number of U.S. led proposals. Some of these initiatives include Model Guidelines on reducing trade in counterfeit and pirated goods by protecting against unauthorized copies, preventing the sale of counterfeit goods over the Internet, raising public awareness on IP protection and enforcement efforts, and securing supply chains. Other initiatives include a paper on innovative techniques for IPR border enforcement and commitments made by the APEC leadership on combating signal theft, and addressing markets that knowingly sell counterfeit and pirated goods. The United States will continue to introduce initiatives that build on past accomplishments.
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