COAC Working Group to Shift IPR Focus to DIS, Trusted Trader Programs
A working group in the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) will shift its focus to other intellectual property rights protection methods, including through trusted trader benefits, after recommending on Feb. 20 that the agency put the Distribution Chain Management (DCM) initiative on hold. The IPR working group will subsequently put more focus on a new tack, looking toward use of the Document Image System (DIS), trusted trader benefits and collaboration with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), said Karen Kenney, chief operating officer-Liberty International.
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The working group will next take a look at the ability for rights-holders to submit to CBP photographic evidence of authenticity at the time entry, said Kenney. The group is now compiling a list of documents that the trade could submit to CBP and then CBP will explore "how that information may be used for better targeting," she said. "Licensing agreements and other documents would be provided through the DIS to verify authentic shipments at the time of filing entry summaries," said a CBP status report on the efforts (here). The IPR group "believes moving to discussions on DIS is moving us in the right direction and could be implemented far easier since it already exists."
The group is also collaborating with the Trusted Trader and CEEs working groups "to explore how IPR might fit in with existing programs," she said. "I think the more inclusive we can make those programs," the better the results will be and the group expects to put forward some recommendations along those lines at the next COAC meeting in May. The working group will next "the feasibility of a Trusted Trader IPR Importer Program, either as a 'stand alone' or as part of C-TPAT," said CBP. It's also "exploring the parallel importing/licensee environment; IPR violations related to the importing of refurbished goods; ways to simplify the seizure process for small/express shipments," said CBP document.
The working group had previously voiced problems with the DCM initiative (see 13111524), but it officially asked at the COAC meeting that the work on DCM be "tabled" until business practices were better aligned with such an idea. Under DCM, importers would follow industry supply chain standards and participants would submit a data element on entry that would lower their shipment’s risk score. But the IPR working group has found that the program would be burdensome for rights-holders and importers of branded merchandise, it has said.