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Executive Advocacy

AIPLA regularly provides comments to different agencies within the U.S. government, as well as to other domestic organizations, on matters impacting intellectual property laws and protection.

 

Internal Revenue Service
  • AIPLA Testimony on proposed revisions to 26 C.F.R. Parts 1 and 301, delivered February 21, 2008 before the Internal Revenue Service. (PDF)
  • AIPLA Response to the October 2007 rule proposed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on “Patented Transactions,”submitted December 26, 2007 (3 pages - 37K* - Click PDF to view the Response; click HERE to view the IRS proposed rule (10/22/2007)
National Academy of Sciences
  • ​AIPLA Response to the National Research Council's Report on Reaping The Benefits of Genomic and Proteomic Research (31 pages –197K* Click HEREto view the Response; For information on the Report: Reaping the Benefits of Genomic and Proteomic Research: Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation, and Public Health, please visit The National Academies Press by clicking HERE.)
  • AIPLA Response to the National Academies Report entitled "A Patent System for the 21st Century" (49 pages–243K* Click PDF to view the Response; Click PDF to view the Report.)
National Institutes of Health
  • Comments on Draft Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services: "Public Consultation Draft Report on Gene Patents and Licensing Practices and Their Impact on Patient Access to Genetic Tests" 74(52) Federal Register 11730 (March 19, 2009) ( PDF)
National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • AIPLA Comments to NIST on March-In Rights Guidance, February 5, 2024 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Feedback to NIST Draft Green Paper on ROI Initiative February 8, 2019 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Response NIST Bayh-Dole Regulation, Dec 9, 2016 (PDF​)​
  • AIPLA Comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (National Science and Technology Council's Sub-Committee on Standards) on Standardization Feedback for Sub-Committee on Standards, February 18, 2011 (PDF)​
US Customs and Border Protection
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Customs 21st Century Framework, February 2, 2019 (PDF)​​
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Proposed Rulemaking, "Disclosure of Information for Certain Intellectual Property Rights Enforced at the Border," June 25, 2012 (PDF)​​
US International Trade Commission
  • AIPLA Comments on the International Trade Commission’s Investigation of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), May 3, 2023 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on Proposed Amendments to the Commission's Rules of General Application, Adjudication and Enforcement, November 23, 2015 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on Commission FY2015 Budget and Space for Section 337 Investigations, May 19, 2014 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in Response to Request for Public Comments:  "Interagency Review of Exclusion Order Enforcement Process," July 19, 2013 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Rules of General Application, Adjudication, and Enforcement,” December 4, 2012 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Rules of General Application, Adjudication, and Enforcement,” September 17, 2012 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on Proposed Revisions to Rules of Practice and Procedure and Proposed Handbook on Filing Procedures, August 5, 2011 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on proposed revisions to 19 C.F.R. Sections 201 and 210, filed March 19, 2008 at the US International Trade Commission (PDF)
US Securities and Exchange Commission
  • AIPLA Comments to Concept Release on Business and Financial Disclosure Required by Regulation S-K​, August 9, 2016 (PDF)​
US Trade Representative 
  • Letter Submitted to the Office of the US Trade Representative Supporting US Opposition to TRIPS Waiver Proposal, March 30, 2021 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on the Draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Relating to Civil or Commercial Matters, March 19, 2018 (PDF)​
  • AIPLA and PhRMA Comments on Draft Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Relating to Civil or Commercial Matters​ Currently Being Negotiated at The Hague Conference on Private International Law​, July 19, 2017 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement ("ACTA" or "Agreement") and the ongoing negotiations between the possible Member States, submitted September 27, 2010. (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on the Proposed Amendment and Correction of Trademark Registrations published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2003 (Comments submitted February 2, 2004) (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on the "Work Program set forth in the draft Ministerial Declaration submitted by the WTO General Council and WTO Director-General for consideration at the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference scheduled for Doha, Qatar next month" (October 11, 2001) (PDF​)
Other

AIPLA Files Comments to Health and Human Services (HHS) on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Proposed Pandemic Treaty

  • AIPLA Comments to HHS on WHO Pandemic Treaty, January 31, 2024 (PDF)

AIPLA Files Comments on Proposed Final Pretrial Conference Pilot and Order

  • AIPLA Files Comments on Proposed Final Pretrial Conference Pilot and Order, August 26, 2022 (PDF)

AIPLA Comments to ACUS on Patent Small Claims Court

  • AIPLA Comments on a Potential Small Claims Patent Court or Small Claims Patent Proceeding and its Impacts, July 5, 2022 (PDF)

Regarding the Position of the USPTO Director

  • AIPLA Comments to the Department of Commerce Regarding the Position of USPTO Director, June 28, 2017 (PDF​)
  • AIPLA White Paper Concerning the Recommended Qualifications for the Next Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, November 2013 (PDF)​

​Office of the Presidential Transition

  • AIPLA Letter to Biden Administration, February 26, 2021 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Letter to President-Elect Donald Trump, January 4, 2017 (PDF​​)​

U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator

  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator on Development of the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, December 3, 2018 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator on Development of the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, October 30, 2015 (PDF)​
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in Response to Request for Public Comments:  "Interagency Review of Exclusion Order Enforcement Process," July 19, 2013 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments to OMB Regarding Negative Impact of Sequestration on USPTO Funding and Operations, May 21, 2013 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in Response to Request for Public Comments for "Trade Secret Theft Strategy Legislative Review," April 22, 2013 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator on Development of the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, August 10, 2012 (PDF)​

The Sedona Conference

  • AIPLA Comments on the Sedona Conference Report on the Markman Process, submitted February 2, 2007 (PDF)
  • AIPLA Comments on the Revised April 2005 Public Comment Draft" of The Sedona Guidelines: Best Practices Addressing Protective Orders, Confidentiality & Public Access in Civil Cases (the "Draft Guidelines"). Filed May 14, 2006. (PDF)
  • Letter expressing initial concerns of AIPLA on the Revised April 2005 Public Comment Draft" of The Sedona Guidelines: Best Practices Addressing Protective Orders, Confidentiality & Public Access in Civil Cases (the "Draft Guidelines"). Filed March 10, 2006. (PDF)

Miscellaneous

  • AIPLA Joint Comments to Mayor Eric Garcetti in Support of the Anti-Piracy Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, March 9, 2018 (PDF)

In This Section

Recent Advocacy

  • AIPLA Endorses Nomination of Tiffany P. Cunningham to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    June 15, 2021

    On June 15, 2021, AIPLA submitted a letter to the Honorable Richard J. Durbin and the Honorable Charles L. Grassley, Chair and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Committee on the Judiciary. This letter supported the nomination of Tiffany P. Cunningham, President Biden's nominee for Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. AIPLA wrote that Ms. Cunningham’s background and professional experience demonstrate that she is qualified to serve in that position, and that she would make an excellent addition to the Federal Circuit.
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Vacates Final Order of the Federal Trade Commission in 1-800 Contacts Case

    June 11, 2021

    On June 11, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a Final Order of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), finding that 1-800 Contact’s “typical trademark settlement agreements” did not unreasonably restrain trade in violation the Section 5 of the FTC Act given the lack of direct evidence of an anticompetitive effect and the strong procompetitive justification of protecting 1-800 Contract’s trademarks. The Court of Appeals also found that it did not have sufficient experience with the type of conduct at issue to permit the abbreviated antitrust analysis favored by the Commission, applying a full-blown rule of reason analysis instead. The Court remanded the case to the Commission with instructions to dismiss it.
  • AIPLA Submits Comments on Proposed Administrative Updates to the General Requirements Bulletin

    May 24, 2021

    On May 24, 2021, AIPLA submitted comments to the Director for the Office of Enrollment and Discipline at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding the proposed administrative updates to the General Requirements Bulletin (GRB). The comments made were in support of the proposal to add the common Category B categories to Category A to reflect current and anticipated patenting activity, and of the proposal to amend Category B, Options 2 and 4, to permit a combination of courses that need not be sequential. AIPLA also advised considering the addition of degrees matching emerging technical fields on a regular basis and supports the inclusion of master’s and doctoral degrees as acceptable under the requirements of Category A.
  • AIPLA Statement on the US Administration’s Decision on Waiver of IP Protections

    May 6, 2021

    AIPLA echoes the significant concerns shared by many other intellectual property entities about the Administration’s decision to support the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s proposed waiver of IP protections for COVID-19 vaccines. AIPLA continues to support the widespread distribution of vaccines, medicines, and other measures necessary to meet the challenges of COVID-19, however, we are concerned that the waiver approach is unlikely to lead to the desired result of widespread access to high-quality vaccines produced by qualified manufacturers and will negatively impact further innovation. AIPLA believes this decision has the potential to set an unfortunate precedent going forward.