Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Protection Under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930

GAO discussed ways to strengthen protection of intellectual property rights under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Some U.S. property rights holders who sought relief from counterfeit or infringing imports were denied access to section 337 relief because of economic tests normally not required in intellectual property rights cases. Although there was substantial support for eliminating the requirement that a complainant demonstrate its operation's efficiency and economy, there were objections to amending the domestic industry and injury tests because of concerns about: (1) the International Trade Commission's (ITC) continuing role as adjudicator; (2) possible duplication of federal district court proceedings; (3) foreign firms' use of section 337; and (4) possible violations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). GAO found that: (1) ITC would continue to be an appropriate forum for adjudicating section 337 disputes; (2) section 337 proceedings would be a more effective means for protecting intellectual property rights than federal district courts; (3) the legal community believes that foreign firms that register intellectual property rights in the United States deserve government protection; and (4) eliminating the domestic industry and injury tests would not cause GATT violations. GAO also found that ITC could improve section 337 rights protection by: (1) expediting relief to firms when necessary to prevent severe financial loss; and (2) issuing both an exclusion order and a cease and desist order to remedy the same violation.