[Federal Register: December 17, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 242)]
[Notices]               
[Page 79069-79070]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17de10-135]                         

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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

 
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: Request for Comments From 
the Public

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) 
has concluded negotiations on a proposed agreement to strengthen 
international cooperation, enforcement practices and legal frameworks 
for addressing counterfeiting and piracy. USTR is requesting written 
comments from the public on the final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting 
Trade Agreement (ACTA) in connection with consideration of U.S. 
signature of the agreement.
    The deadline for submission of written comments is, 5 p.m., 
Tuesday, February 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: All written comments should be sent electronically via 
http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2010-0014. Submissions 
should contain the term ``ACTA Public Comments'' in the ``Type comment 
& Upload file'' field on http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kira M. Alvarez, Chief Negotiator and 
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property 
Enforcement, Office of the United States Trade Representative, at (202) 
395-4510. Further information about ACTA can be located at http://
www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379.

1. Supplementary Information

    USTR, working with a group of trading partners, has concluded 
negotiations on a proposed agreement to strengthen international 
cooperation, enforcement practices and legal frameworks for addressing 
counterfeiting and piracy. USTR is requesting written comments from the 
public on the final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement 
(ACTA) in connection with consideration of U.S. signature of the 
agreement.
    Participants in the negotiations included: Australia, Canada, the 
European Union (EU) represented by the European Commission and the EU 
Presidency (Belgium) and the EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, 
Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States.
    Consistent with the Administration's strategy for intellectual 
property enforcement, ACTA would be the highest-standard plurilateral 
agreement yet achieved concerning the enforcement of intellectual 
property rights, and would establish an international model for 
effectively combating the global proliferation of commercial-scale 
counterfeiting and piracy. In addition to requirements concerning legal 
frameworks for intellectual property enforcement, the proposed 
agreement also includes innovative provisions to deepen international 
cooperation and to promote strong enforcement practices. Together these 
provisions will help to protect American jobs in innovative and 
creative industries against intellectual property theft.

2. Text and Summary Information

    The full, final text of the ACTA, together with summaries and 
related information, can be found at http://www.ustr.gov/acta.

3. Public Comments

a. Written Comments

    Written comments must be received by February 15, 2011 at 5 p.m.

b. Requirements for Comments

    Comments must be in writing and in English. All comments should be 
sent electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-
2010-0014.
    To submit comments to http://www.regulations.gov, find the docket 
by entering the number USTR-2010-0014 in the ``Enter Keyword or ID'' 
window at the http://www.regulations.gov home page and click 
``Search.'' The site will provide a search-results page listing all 
documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to this notice 
by selecting ``Notice'' under ``Document Type'' on the left side of the 
search-results page, and click on the link entitled ``Submit a 
comment.'' (For further information on using the http://
www.regulations.gov Web site, please consult the resources provided on 
the Web site by clicking on ``How to Use This Site'' on the left side 
of the home page).
    The http://www.regulations.gov site provides the option of 
providing comments by filling in a ``Type comment & Upload file'' 
field, or by attaching a document. It is USTR's preference that 
comments be provided in an attached document. If a document is 
attached, please type ``ACTA Public Comments'' in the ``Type comment & 
Upload file'' field. USTR prefers submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc) 
or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). If the submission is in an application other 
than those two, please indicate the name of the application in the 
``Comments'' field.
    For any comments containing business confidential information, the 
filer should type ``ACTA Comments--Business Confidential'' in the 
``Type Comment & Upload file'' field. Any page containing business 
confidential information must be clearly marked ``BUSINESS 
CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. Filers of submissions 
containing business confidential information must also submit a 
separate public version of their comments with the business 
confidential information redacted. The filer should type ``ACTA 
Comments--Public Version'' in the ``Type Comment & Upload file'' field. 
If it is determined that the comment does not contain business 
confidential information, the filer will be notified of that 
determination and allowed to withdraw their comment.

[[Page 79070]]

4. Inspection of Comments, Notices, and Hearing Statements

    USTR will maintain a docket on the ACTA Public Review that is 
accessible to the public. The public file will include all comments 
received which will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13, except confidential business. 
Comments may be viewed on the http://www.regulations.gov Web site by 
entering docket number USTR-2010-0014 in the search field on the home 
page.

Stanford K. McCoy,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and 
Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2010-31763 Filed 12-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W1-P