USTR RELEASES 2025 eleases 2025 Notorious Markets List
Yesterday the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2025 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy, which highlights online and physical markers that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting and/or copyright piracy. In a press release accompanying the report, U.S. Trade Representative JAMIESON GREER said “[w]ith the United States co-hosting the FIFA World Cup, we are particularly attuned to sales of counterfeit merchandise and illicit streaming of sports broadcasts” noting that “[n]ot only do such activities amount to intellectual property theft, they also harm consumers, such as through purchasing substandard goods that can present health or safety concerns or downloading malware when visiting sites engaged in these activities.” The 2025 list identifies 37 online markets and 32 physical markets. IPO filed written comments during the USTR’s information gathering process related to this review.
DOJ AND USPTO FILE STATEMENT OF INTEREST ADDRESSING PATENT INJUNCTIONS
Last week the USPTO and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in Collision Communications, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The filing addresses the availability of injunctive relief in patent cases and urges application of traditional equitable principles consistent with governing Supreme Court precedent.
The agencies emphasize that the right to exclude is a core attribute of the patent grant and caution against categorical rules that would effectively preclude certain patent owners—such as non-practicing entities—from seeking injunctive relief. The Statement indicates that courts must apply eBay’s four-factor equitable test on a case-specific basis. The government does not take a position on the ultimate disposition of case but reflects the Administration’s policy view that injunctive relief is a meaningful patent remedy that, when warranted, supports investment in innovation.
IPO SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR IPO DAILY NEWS FOCUS GROUPS
IPO invites members and regular readers of the IPO Daily News to participate in a virtual focus group in early March. The sessions are part of ongoing efforts to evaluate and enhance the publication’s content, format, and delivery to better serve the IPO community.
Focus groups will be conducted virtually and will last approximately 45–60 minutes. Participants will be asked to provide feedback on the types of content they find most valuable, preferred length and structure, delivery formats, and potential new features such as recurring series or multimedia elements.
IPO welcomes participation from in-house counsel, law firm practitioners, government professionals, and other members of the IP community who regularly read the IPO Daily News.
Members interested in participating should contact Samantha Grover by March 6.
WAIT, WAIT . . . DON’T TELL ME!
Join IPO’s Leadership Development Committee on March 19 during IPOwners Spring Summit™ for a session following a format similar to the iconic radio show Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! Presenters will explore several legal issues that leaders must weigh in conjunction with leading a legal team and organizations. Some of the issues that may be discussed include: How should leaders evaluate and make decisions when under stress? How much input should they receive from the team or from outside resources? How should one balance the speed of needing to make a decision versus achieving desired accuracy? How much data is too much (or note enough) data? How does data counter-balance with intuition? How does one evaluate all these decisions while maintaining integrity internally and when viewed by others, including those reporting to the decision-maker, those to whom the decision-maker reports, and/or third parties outside of decision-makers direct chain of command? Visit the website to view the full program or to register.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR IPO’S EUROPEAN PRACTICE CONFERENCE ON 28 MAY IN FRANKFURT, GERMANY
Mark your calendars for IPO’s 13th annual European Practice Conference entitled “Watch Your Words – Claim Interpretations, Estoppel, Information Sharing, Chat Bots and Much More.” The 2026 event will take place on 28 May in Frankfurt, Germany. The conference will include presentations from in-house and outside counsel as well as experts from the courts. Visit the conference website for more information.