The U.K. vote for “Brexit” from the European Union could have significant repercussions on IP enforcement, protections, regulations and legislation going forward.  One area of certain confusion, among many other current rules and rights laws, will be Customs Regulations.  For example, the relatively new EU Customs Regulation (608/2013) instituted January 1, 2014, provides for progressive harmonized border measures concerning the destruction of infringing goods, mitigating postal and courier traffic of counterfeit goods (that have increased 300% since 2009), and enhancing rights holders’ options to enforce IP rights in customs enforcement procedures.  Given the Brexit decision, will the new U.K. be forced to abandon these EU Regulations? Additional concerns are how the movement of goods in transit through the U.K. will be regulated and what measures businesses should take to minimize their potential impacts.  
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The U.S. Senate passed a resolution on July 15th to designate July as the official month for national anti-counterfeiting education and awareness campaigns in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Lanham Act.  This news was welcomed and celebrated by the IP community.  The designation presents brands with an opportunity to launch their own consumer education campaigns in conjunction with the official month for anti-counterfeiting awareness. 
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The Rio Olympics took place August 5-21, 2016, and provided an opportunity for brands to promote themselves to a global audience while at the same time giving counterfeiters plenty of targets to monetize, ranging from promotional apparel and souvenirs to toys and replicas.  An unusual practice arose in Rio that may shift some brands’ thoughts on providing lower market-tier product​s​ ​as a strategy ​to combat counterfeiting.
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The Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator is expected to release its “2016 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement,” which will provide direction for its activities over the ensuing three years.  This will be the third Joint Strategic Plan to be issued and presumably it will also report on the progress made since the issuance of the 2013 Joint Strategic Plan and the establishment of the Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in 2010.  Danny Marti currently serves as the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator within the Executive Office of the President.  Several companies and non-profits have submitted their concerns to IPEC, which primarily focus on improving enforcement of International Trade Commission Exclusion Orders.  The IPEC’s Fiscal Year 2015 report (following link) describes advances made concerning the 26 action items called for in the Administration’s 2013 Joint Strategic Plan.
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With football season in full swing, hockey season just beginning and baseball’s World Series taking place this month watch for more raid and seizure activities in physical flea markets.  Possible opportunities for collaborative efforts may arise with sports licensees and law enforcement should your brands be appearing in these markets. MORE 

Before Tuesday November 8^th take time to check back in and see if there have been any further position statements by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump on intellectual property issues. The impact of the next President’s decisions toward IP will significantly affect industry and the U.S. economy, which are growing more dependent on innovation and the protection of IP rights in an ever-increasing globalized economy.  The story link here presents an early analysis of positions when there was a wide field of candidates, but provides some interesting foundation to assess the two nominees’ current positions on IP. 
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