AAFA and Intellectual Property Rights

Recent government statistics have shown apparel and footwear products make up half of all pirated goods exported to the United States.  While many believe that the purchase of counterfeit clothes and shoes is a victimless crime, the revenue made through the sale of these goods have been shown to fund terrorist, organized crime and other illicit activities in the U.S. and overseas. 

Economically, fake products steal business from legitimate companies, which prohibit these companies from being able to create more jobs and, in fact, have resulted in the retail sector being forced to lay off hard-working employees.  Also, the transaction of counterfeit goods essentially evades taxes that support important government programs for many people.

Congress and the Administration continue to be active on efforts to strengthen intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement through a number of initiatives domestically and internationally.  In early 2007, the Administration initiated the first-ever WTO case on enforcement several months ago when it filed two IPR-related cases on China.  More recently, the USTR identified a series of countries which remain deficient in their IPR practices through its annual special 301 report on April 30, 2007. 

AAFA is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce’s Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) (Learn more about CACP), serving on its Legislative Task Force.  In this capacity, AAFA helps to coordinate, establish and craft the legislative agenda of the CACP.  The coalition has worked with Congress to draft and introduced the following bills: the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, the Bayh/Voinovich IP legislation, the Leahy/Cornyn IP Enforcement Act of 2007 and the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO IP) Act of 2007.

AAFA is extremely dedicated to the protection of its members’ brands, trademarks and innovative ideas as the world’s leaders in the apparel and footwear industries.  AAFA continues to work with Congress, the Administration and our foreign trade partners to ensure that our members’ products are able to legitimately compete in the global market.

Latest News:

1.13.09
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on January 7 released its Year (FY) 2008 report on seizures of counterfeit goods. CBP seized more than $272.7 million in counterfeit and pirated goods in FY 2008, a 38 percent increase over FY 2007. Footwear continues to be the top commodity seized at the border, accounting for 38 percent of the value of all goods seized by CBP. Apparel constituted 9 percent of counterfeit articles seized, amounting to some $25 million in value.

11.24.08
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) November 20 that it has decided to launch a so-called "Section 337" investigation into an October 22 complaint by Masai Marketing & Trading AG and Masai Corp. alleging patent infringement on its active comfort footwear. The ITC has 45 days to rule on the case.

10.20.08
On October 13, President George W. Bush signed the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (PRO-IP Act, S. 3325). This new law improves upon current intellectual property statute by increasing civil and criminal penalties against counterfeiting and piracy, providing enhanced enforcement and increasing coordination within the various agencies of executive branch to better combat the growing counterfeiting problem worldwide.

09.15.08
On September 11, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (S 3325), which increases penalties for crimes of counterfeiting and dedicates specific government resources to combating the rampant growth of intellectual property violations worldwide. The legislation was introduced by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-PA). Similar legislation, the PRO-IP Act, passed the House in May 2008 by a vote of 410-11. The legislation must still pass the full US Senate and be reconciled with the House-passed version of the legislation before Congress adjourns at the end of this month. In related news, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on September 10 introduced legislation aimed at bolstering the protection of intellectual property by requiring the Office of US Trade Representative (USTR) to prepare work plans detailing how countries that are found to be violators of intellectual property rights (IPR) should address their shortcomings. The work plans would identify in USTR’s annual Special 301 report the steps those countries should take and mention which ones they have actually taken. The bill does not call for any mandatory penalties if countries fail to take these actions.

06.09.08
The President has appointed Wayne B. Paugh to be the second Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement at the Department of Commerce. Paugh currently serves as Senior Advisor and Acting IPR Coordinator. He has had a very distinguished career in both government and the private sector, including at the Patent and Trademark Office. He is replacing Chris Israel, who became the first Coordinator for IPR Enforcement in July 2005.

06.09.08
On June 4, the Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that credit card companies should not be required to stop transactions when their cards are used on websites that sell pirated materials. AAFA joined the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) and filed an amicus brief in March arguing that the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision set a “dangerous precedent in the law of secondary liability for copyright and trademark.” AAFA is continually working to support measures that will protect its members’ brands and limit the ways infringers can sell counterfeit apparel and footwear goods.