STOP!: A Progress Report on Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights Here and Abroad

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The hearing will focus on the progress that the Administration’s Strategy targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative has made in developing and implementing a plan to improve intellectual property rights enforcement and assistance since the Subcommittee’s last hearing on June 14, 2005. In particular, the hearing will examine the extent to which the STOP! Initiative has been effective in educating businesses, particularly small and medium sized businesses, about the issues related to conducting business in the global economy. The hearing will also examine and analyze the improvements that have occurred in the U.S. efforts to combat intellectual property theft since the STOP! Initiative was launched in 2004, with a particular emphasis on the progress made since the appointment of the IP Coordinator last July. Finally, the hearing will explore if the STOP! Initiative has identified effective human capital and strategic plans to build on the existing program, and if it has the necessary resources required to complete its mission.