Costa Rica complies regarding protection and enforcement of U.S. IP rights

By IDeas trademarks & patents

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. This annual report details USTR’s findings of more than 100 trading partners after significant research and enhanced engagement with stakeholders.

“Intellectual property rights incentivize our creators, manufacturers, and innovators to invent new products and technologies,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “The laws, policies and practices that protect those rights must appropriately balance the interests of creators with those seeking to use their creations. Failing to adequately and effectively protect those rights in foreign markets hurts the U.S. economy, the dynamism of American innovators and the livelihoods of our workers.”

For the second consecutive year, Costa Rica is out of the watch list of countries that infringe US intellectual property rights. Costa Rica was part of such list uninterruptedly from 1995 to 2019.

The Director General of the National Registry, Fabiola Varela, highlighted the achievement as part of an efforts to promote and educate the population on Intellectual Property. Among other things, Costa Rica has organized trainings to promote best practices for IP rights enforcement among law enforcement, customs officials, judges, and IP protection agencies, actively engaging with trading partners in capacity-building efforts.