[A2k] USTR's explanation of intellectual property provisions in US-Korea FTA

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.wcl.american.edu/pijip/documents/ustrfactsheet.pdf?rd=3D1

Office of the United States Trade Representative
www.ustr.gov
April 2007

Free Trade with Korea Summary of the KORUS FTA

The United States concluded an historic agreement with the Republic of
Korea on April 1, 2007. This comprehensive trade agreement will
eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade in goods and services,
promote economic growth, and strengthen economic ties between the United
States and Korea.

[snip]

State-of-the-Art Protection for U.S. Trademarks

=95 Provides trademark protection for sound and scent marks, as well as
certification marks.

=95 Requires a system to resolve disputes about trademarks used in
Internet domain names, which is important to prevent "cyber-squatting"
with respect to high-value domain names.

=95 Applies principle of "first-in-time, first-in-right" to trademarks and
geographical indications, so that the first person who acquires a right
to a trademark or geographical indication is the person who has the
right to use it.

=95 Provides for an on-line system for the registration and maintenance of
trademarks, as well as a searchable database and requires transparent
procedures for the registration of trademarks, including geographical
indications.

=95 Prevents requirements for license recordation in order to establish
the validity of that license.

Protection for Copyrighted Works in a Digital Economy

=95 Protects music, videos, software, and text from widespread
unauthorized sharing via the Internet by giving copyright owners to
ability to maintain rights over temporary copies of their works.

=95 Provides extended terms of protection (e.g., life of the author plus
seventy years) for copyrighted works, including phonograms, consistent
with emerging international standards.

=95 Establishes strong anti-circumvention provisions to prohibit tampering
with technologies (like embedded codes on discs) that are designed to
prevent piracy and unauthorized distribution over the Internet.

=95 Requires that government agencies use only legitimate computer
software, setting a positive example for private users.

=95 Requires rules to prohibit the unauthorized receipt or distribution of
encrypted satellite signals, to prevent piracy of satellite television
programming.

=95 Provides rules for the liability of Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
for copyright infringement, reflecting the balance struck in the U.S.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act between legitimate ISP activity and the
infringement of copyright.

Patents & Regulated products

=95 Provides for the extension of patent terms to compensate for delays in
granting the original patent.

=95 Permits inventors to publish their inventions in journals and still
have 12-months before their own publication will prevent patenting that
invention.

=95 Protects against arbitrary revocation of patents and assures
protection for newly developed plant varieties and animals.

=95 Clarifies that test data submitted to a government for the purpose of
product approval will be protected against unfair commercial use for a
period of five years for pharmaceuticals and 10 years for agricultural
chemicals.

=95 Requires measures to prevent the marketing of pharmaceutical products
that infringe patents, and to provide notice when the validity of a
pharmaceutical patent is to be challenged.

Tough Penalties for Piracy and Counterfeiting

=95 Criminalizes end-user piracy, providing strong deterrence against
copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

=95 Requires parties to authorize the seizure, forfeiture, and destruction
of counterfeit and pirated goods and the equipment used to produce them.

=95 Provides for customs enforcement against goods-in-transit, to deter
violators from using ports or free trade zones to traffic in pirated
products.

=95 Streamlines customs procedures to increase efficiency of enforcement.

=95 Permits customs officials and prosecutors to bring an IPR enforcement
action without having to wait for a formal complaint from the right
holders, providing for more effective enforcement.

[snip]