2010-03-01

Writer/Author Input Sought by the White House: Your Chance to Weigh in Individually

Victoria Espinel, the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, sometimes referred to as the "Copyright Czar," has announced a round of public comment on copyright and copyright-enforcement related issues. Writing on the White House blog Espinel says, "While talking about our global competitive advantage at a recent town hall meeting in Ohio, the President said, "One of the problems that we have had is insufficient protection for intellectual property rights"

Jonathan Bailey of PlagarismToday.com notes that, "This is a very rare moment for U.S. Copyright Law where public opinion is being so openly sought, and I encourage those interested in these topics to take advantage of the opportunity"

Specifically, Office of Management and Budget and the Executive Office of the President are seeking feedback on "Identifying the costs to the U.S. economy resulting from infringement of intellectual property rights, both direct and indirect, including any impact on the creation or maintenance of jobs," and creation of a strategic plan for dealing with Intellectual Property infringement. See the Federal Register description.

Comments are to be submitted to the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at intellectualproperty@omb.eop.gov by 5 p.m. E.S.T., on March 24, 2010.

Here's how:

Submissions should be sent via email to: intellectualproperty@omb.eop.gov and for further information you can call Thomas L. Stoll, Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, at (202) 395–1808

Please note that all submissions will be published online so do not provide any confidential information in any submissions you file.