APR 27, 2017 | GLOBAL
BSA Statement on 2017 Special 301 Report
WASHINGTON – April 28, 2017 – BSA | The Software Alliance welcomes the 2017 Special 301 Report released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today. We thank USTR for their efforts to highlight and plans to work with trading partners on various issues that need to be addressed to ensure IP owners have fair and equitable market access to foreign markets. Many of these issues, including data and server localization policies, mandates to disclose source code, and high level of unlicensed software use, were highlighted by BSA in its 2017 Special 301 Comments submitted to USTR earlier this year.
“Eliminating market access barriers and promoting effective intellectual property protection is critical to allow BSA members and other US companies to continue innovating, creating jobs, and fueling the US economy,” said Victoria Espinel, President & CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance. “We urge USTR to leverage the Special 301 and all other available tools to achieve these goals, which is consistent with the Administration’s recently released 2017 Trade Policy Agenda.”
ABOUT BSA
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the global trade association of the enterprise software industry, representing companies that are leaders in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and other cutting-edge technologies. We work in over 20 markets in the US, Europe, and Asia, advocating for policies that build trust in technology so that every industry sector and the public can benefit from innovation. BSA also supports its members and their customers by raising awareness of the risks of unlicensed software use and the benefits of software asset management, driving license compliance and software adoption around the world through sound IT procurement.