December 16, 2019
Filed electronically via www.regulations.gov; Docket No. USCBP-2019-0031
Robert E. Perez
Deputy Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230
Timothy E. Skud
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of Tax, Trade and Tariff Policy Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20220
Re: Comment Request on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Enforcement of Copyrights and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act at the U.S. Border, 84 Fed Reg. 55251, pp. 55251-65 (October 16, 2019)
Dear Deputy Commissioner Perez and Deputy Assistant Secretary Skud:
The Entertainment Software Association (“ESA”) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the proposal to amend U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) regulations pertaining to the disclosure of information mandated by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (“TFTEA”)1 on goods that infringe copyrights, trademarks and Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).2 The proposed regulations would create procedures for the disclosure of information and define the types of information disclosed. ESA commends CBP’s proposed rulemaking as a significant step in the right direction but clarity is needed, however, in particular, about the mechanism for the notification of copyright owners injured by seized circumvention devices that violate the DMCA. We ask CBP for clarification of the definitions of eligible persons, injured persons, and requiring recorded copyrights to cover technological protection measures. We also ask for the confirmation that existing cooperation between rights holders and CBP regarding enforcement of imported circumvention devices will remain unaffected by the proposed rules.
