2011 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets: Request for Public Comments, 58854-58855 [2011-24523]
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58854
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 184 / Thursday, September 22, 2011 / Notices
ineffectual the measures authorized in
the Order.
This notice shall be published in the
Federal Register.
Dated: September 16, 2011.
William J. Burns,
Deputy Secretary of State.
[FR Doc. 2011–24512 Filed 9–21–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–10–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
2011 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review
of Notorious Markets: Request for
Public Comments
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written submissions
from the public.
AGENCY:
In 2010 the Office of the
United States Trade Representative
(USTR) began publishing the notorious
market list as an ‘‘Out of Cycle Review’’
separately from the annual Special 301
report. This review of Notorious
Markets (‘‘Notorious Markets List’’)
results in the publication of examples of
Internet and physical markets that have
been the subject of enforcement action
or that may merit further investigation
for possible intellectual property
infringements. The Notorious Markets
List does not represent a finding of
violation of law, but rather is a summary
of information that serves to highlight
the problem of marketplaces that deal in
infringing goods and which help sustain
global piracy and counterfeiting. USTR
is hereby requesting written
submissions from the public identifying
potential Internet and physical
notorious markets that exist outside the
United States and that may be included
in the 2011 Notorious Markets List.
DATES: The deadline for interested
parties to submit written comments is
October 26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: All written comments
should be sent electronically via
https://www.regulations.gov, docket
number USTR–2011–0012. Submissions
should contain the term ‘‘2011 Out-ofCycle Review of Notorious Markets’’ in
the ‘‘Type comment’’ field on https://
www.regulations.gov.
SUMMARY:
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paula Karol Pinha, Director for
Intellectual Property Enforcement,
Office of the United States Trade
Representative, at (202) 395– 5419.
Further information about Special 301
can be found at https://www.ustr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:29 Sep 21, 2011
Jkt 223001
1. Background
Pursuant to the 2010 Joint Strategic
Plan on Intellectual Property
Enforcement, USTR began publishing
the Notorious Markets List separately
from the annual Special 301 report in
which it had previously been included.
After a dedicated request for comments
and separate review which took place in
the fall and winter of 2010, USTR
published the first Out-of-Cycle Review
of Notorious Markets (‘‘Notorious
Markets List’’) in February 2011.
The 2010 Notorious Markets List
identified 34 markets, including both
physical and virtual markets, as
examples of marketplaces that have
been the subject of enforcement action
or that may merit further investigation
for possible intellectual property rights
infringements, or both. The 2010
Notorious Markets List did not reflect
findings of violation of law, nor did it
reflect the United States’ analysis of the
general climate of protection and
enforcement of intellectual property
rights in the countries where the
markets were located. Rather, the list
identified certain prominent examples
of markets in which pirated or
counterfeit goods were reportedly
available. Through the Notorious
Markets List, the United States
encourages the responsible authorities
to step up efforts to combat piracy and
counterfeiting in these and similar
markets.
2. Public Comments
A. Written Comments
The Special 301 Subcommittee invites
written submissions from the public
concerning potential examples of
Internet and physical ‘‘notorious
markets.’’ Notorious markets are those
where counterfeit or pirated products
are prevalent to such a degree that the
market exemplifies the problem of
marketplaces that deal in infringing
goods and help sustain global piracy
and counterfeiting.
B. Requirements for Comments
Interested parties must submit written
comments by October 26, 2011. Written
comments should be as detailed as
possible and should clearly identify the
reason or reasons why the nature or
scope of activity associated with the
identified market or markets exemplify
the problem of marketplaces that deal in
infringing goods and help sustain global
piracy and counterfeiting. Information
that would be particularly helpful
would include: location; principal
owners/operators (if known); types of
products sold, distributed, or otherwise
made available; information on the
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volume of Internet traffic associated
with the Web site, such as the Alexa
ranking; any known civil or criminal
enforcement activity against the market;
any other efforts to remove/limit
infringing materials, including the Web
site’s responsiveness to notices of
infringement and requests to remove or
disable access to allegedly infringing
material; and any other relevant
information, including with respect to
any other positive progress made by the
operators of the market in addressing
infringing activity. Any comments that
include quantitative loss claims should
be accompanied by the methodology
used in calculating such estimated
losses. Comments must be in English.
All comments should be sent
electronically via https://
www.regulations.gov, docket number
USTR–2011–0012. To submit comments
to https://www.regulations.gov, find the
docket by entering the number USTR–
2011–0012 in the ‘‘Enter Keyword or
ID’’ window at the https://
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 https://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 https://
www.regulations.gov site provides the
option of providing comments by filling
in a ‘‘Type comment’’ 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 ‘‘2011 Out-ofCycle Review of Notorious Markets’’ in
the ‘‘Type comment’’ 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 ‘‘Type
comment’’ field.
3. Inspection of Comments
USTR will maintain a docket on the
2011 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious
Markets 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 information
exempt from public inspection in
accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15.
Comments may be viewed on the
https://www.regulations.gov Web site by
E:\FR\FM\22SEN1.SGM
22SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 184 / Thursday, September 22, 2011 / Notices
entering docket number USTR–2011–
0012 in the search field on the home
page.
Stanford K. McCoy,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
Intellectual Property and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2011–24523 Filed 9–21–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190–W1–P
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Request for Public Comments on
Annual Review of Country Eligibility
for Benefits Under the African Growth
and Opportunity Act
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice and Request for
Comments.
AGENCY:
The African Growth and
Opportunity Act Implementation
Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff
Committee (the ‘‘Subcommittee’’) is
requesting written public comments for
the annual review of the eligibility of
sub-Saharan African countries to receive
the benefits of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (the AGOA). The
Subcommittee will consider these
comments in developing
recommendations on AGOA country
eligibility for calendar year 2012 for the
President. Comments received related to
the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in
the preparation of the Department of
Labor’s report on child labor as required
under section 412(c) of the Trade and
Development Act of 2000. This notice
identifies the eligibility criteria that
must be considered under the AGOA,
and lists those sub-Saharan African
countries that are currently eligible for
the benefits of the AGOA and those that
were ineligible for such benefits in
2011.
DATES: To ensure consideration, public
comments must be submitted to the
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) by October 11, 2011.
ADDRESSES: USTR strongly prefers
electronic submissions made at https://
www.regulations.gov, docket number
USTR-. See ‘‘Requirements for
Submission,’’ below. If you are unable
to make a submission at
www.regulations.gov, please contact
Laura Newport, Trade Policy Staff
Committee, at (202) 395–3475 to make
other arrangements.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
procedural questions, please contact
Laura Newport, Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, 600 17th Street, NW.,
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:29 Sep 21, 2011
Jkt 223001
Room F516, Washington, DC 20508, at
(202) 395–3475. All other questions
should be directed to Constance
Hamilton, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade
Representative for Africa, Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative, at (202) 395–
9514.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
AGOA (Title I of the Trade and
Development Act of 2000, Public Law
106–200) (19 U.S.C. 3721 et seq.), as
amended, authorizes the President to
designate sub-Saharan African countries
as beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries eligible for duty-free treatment
for certain additional products under
the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) (Title V of the Trade Act of 1974
(19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) (the ‘‘1974
Act’’)), as well as for the preferential
treatment the AGOA provides for
certain textile and apparel articles.
The President may designate a
country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country eligible for both the
additional GSP benefits and the textile
and apparel benefits of the AGOA for
countries meeting certain statutory
requirements intended to prevent
unlawful transshipment of such articles,
if he determines that the country meets
the eligibility criteria set forth in: (1)
Section 104 of the AGOA (19 U.S.C.
3703); and (2) section 502 of the 1974
Act (19 U.S.C. 2462).
Section 104 of the AGOA includes
requirements that the country has
established or is making substantial
progress toward establishing: a marketbased economy; the rule of law, political
pluralism, and the right to due process;
the elimination of barriers to U.S. trade
and investment; economic policies to
reduce poverty; a system to combat
corruption and bribery; and protection
of internationally recognized worker
rights. In addition, the country may not
engage in activities that undermine U.S.
national security or foreign policy
interests or engage in gross violations of
internationally recognized human
rights. Please see section 104 of the
AGOA and section 502 of the 1974 Act
for a complete list of the AGOA
eligibility criteria.
For 2011, 37 countries have been
designated as beneficiary sub-Saharan
African countries. These countries, as
well as the countries currently
ineligible, are listed below. Section
506A of the 1974 Act provides that the
President shall monitor and review
annually the progress of each subSaharan African country in meeting the
foregoing eligibility criteria in order to
determine whether each beneficiary
sub-Saharan African country should
continue to be eligible, and whether
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58855
each sub-Saharan African country that
is currently not a beneficiary subSaharan African country, should be
designated as such a country. Section
506A of the 1974 Act requires that, if
the President determines that a
beneficiary sub-Saharan African country
is not making continual progress in
meeting the eligibility requirements, he
must terminate the designation of the
country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan
African country.
The Subcommittee is seeking public
comments in connection with the
annual review of the eligibility of
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries for the AGOA’s benefits. The
Subcommittee will consider any such
comments in developing
recommendations on country eligibility
for the President. Comments related to
the child labor criteria may also be
considered by the Secretary of Labor in
making the findings required under
section 504 of the 1974 Act. The
following sub-Saharan African countries
were designated as beneficiary subSaharan African countries in 2011:
Angola, Republic of Benin, Republic
of Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of
Cameroon, Republic of Chad, Federal
Islamic Republic of Comoros, Republic
of Congo, Republic of Djibouti, Ethiopia,
Gabonese Republic, The Gambia,
Republic of Ghana, Republic of GuineaBissau, Republic of Kenya, Kingdom of
Lesotho, Republic of Liberia, Republic
of Malawi, Republic of Mali, Islamic
Republic of Mauritania, Republic of
Mauritius, Republic of Mozambique,
Republic of Namibia, Federal Republic
of Nigeria, Republic of Rwanda, Sao
Tome & Principe, Republic of Senegal,
Republic of Seychelles, Republic of
Sierra Leone, Republic of South Africa,
Kingdom of Swaziland, United Republic
of Tanzania, Republic of Togo, Republic
of Uganda, Republic of Zambia.
Three countries that were not
designated as AGOA beneficiary
countries for 2011 are the subject of a
separate out-of-cycle review that is
ongoing, so they are not part of this
annual review. These countries are Cote
d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Niger. Written
public comments regarding AGOA
eligibility for these three countries were
separately solicited through a notice in
the Federal Register (76 FR 50284,
August 12, 2011).
The following sub-Saharan African
countries that were not designated as
beneficiary sub-Saharan African
countries in 2011 that are up for review
are:
Central African Republic, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Republic of
Equatorial Guinea, State of Eritrea,
E:\FR\FM\22SEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 184 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58854-58855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24523]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
2011 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets:
Request for Public Comments
AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.
ACTION: Request for written submissions from the public.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In 2010 the Office of the United States Trade Representative
(USTR) began publishing the notorious market list as an ``Out of Cycle
Review'' separately from the annual Special 301 report. This review of
Notorious Markets (``Notorious Markets List'') results in the
publication of examples of Internet and physical markets that have been
the subject of enforcement action or that may merit further
investigation for possible intellectual property infringements. The
Notorious Markets List does not represent a finding of violation of
law, but rather is a summary of information that serves to highlight
the problem of marketplaces that deal in infringing goods and which
help sustain global piracy and counterfeiting. USTR is hereby
requesting written submissions from the public identifying potential
Internet and physical notorious markets that exist outside the United
States and that may be included in the 2011 Notorious Markets List.
DATES: The deadline for interested parties to submit written comments
is October 26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: All written comments should be sent electronically via
https://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2011-0012. Submissions
should contain the term ``2011 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious
Markets'' in the ``Type comment'' field on https://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paula Karol Pinha, Director for
Intellectual Property Enforcement, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, at (202) 395- 5419. Further information about Special
301 can be found at https://www.ustr.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
Pursuant to the 2010 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property
Enforcement, USTR began publishing the Notorious Markets List
separately from the annual Special 301 report in which it had
previously been included. After a dedicated request for comments and
separate review which took place in the fall and winter of 2010, USTR
published the first Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets
(``Notorious Markets List'') in February 2011.
The 2010 Notorious Markets List identified 34 markets, including
both physical and virtual markets, as examples of marketplaces that
have been the subject of enforcement action or that may merit further
investigation for possible intellectual property rights infringements,
or both. The 2010 Notorious Markets List did not reflect findings of
violation of law, nor did it reflect the United States' analysis of the
general climate of protection and enforcement of intellectual property
rights in the countries where the markets were located. Rather, the
list identified certain prominent examples of markets in which pirated
or counterfeit goods were reportedly available. Through the Notorious
Markets List, the United States encourages the responsible authorities
to step up efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting in these and
similar markets.
2. Public Comments
A. Written Comments
The Special 301 Subcommittee invites written submissions from the
public concerning potential examples of Internet and physical
``notorious markets.'' Notorious markets are those where counterfeit or
pirated products are prevalent to such a degree that the market
exemplifies the problem of marketplaces that deal in infringing goods
and help sustain global piracy and counterfeiting.
B. Requirements for Comments
Interested parties must submit written comments by October 26,
2011. Written comments should be as detailed as possible and should
clearly identify the reason or reasons why the nature or scope of
activity associated with the identified market or markets exemplify the
problem of marketplaces that deal in infringing goods and help sustain
global piracy and counterfeiting. Information that would be
particularly helpful would include: location; principal owners/
operators (if known); types of products sold, distributed, or otherwise
made available; information on the volume of Internet traffic
associated with the Web site, such as the Alexa ranking; any known
civil or criminal enforcement activity against the market; any other
efforts to remove/limit infringing materials, including the Web site's
responsiveness to notices of infringement and requests to remove or
disable access to allegedly infringing material; and any other relevant
information, including with respect to any other positive progress made
by the operators of the market in addressing infringing activity. Any
comments that include quantitative loss claims should be accompanied by
the methodology used in calculating such estimated losses. Comments
must be in English.
All comments should be sent electronically via https://www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2011-0012. To submit comments
to https://www.regulations.gov, find the docket by entering the number
USTR-2011-0012 in the ``Enter Keyword or ID'' window at the https://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 https://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 https://www.regulations.gov site provides the option of providing comments by
filling in a ``Type comment'' 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 ``2011 Out-of-Cycle Review of
Notorious Markets'' in the ``Type comment'' 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 ``Type comment'' field.
3. Inspection of Comments
USTR will maintain a docket on the 2011 Out-of-Cycle Review of
Notorious Markets 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 information exempt from public inspection in
accordance with 15 CFR 2006.15. Comments may be viewed on the https://www.regulations.gov Web site by
[[Page 58855]]
entering docket number USTR-2011-0012 in the search field on the home
page.
Stanford K. McCoy,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and
Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2011-24523 Filed 9-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-W1-P
