DPE Applauds USTR’s Annual Special 301 Report Highlighting Global IP Protection and Enforcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org
Last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report, which details the findings of USTR’s review of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement in countries around the world.
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning released the following statement on the report:
“I thank Ambassador Greer, USTR staff, and interagency partners for completing the 2025 Special 301 Report. The report’s snapshot of recent global IP enforcement-related trends is consequential to workers in America’s creative industries. Members of DPE’s affiliate unions rely on effective copyright enforcement for their collectively bargained pay and contributions to their health insurance and pension plans that comes from the legitimate global sales and licensing of the content they help create. Inadequate copyright enforcement and content theft on any continent weakens union creative professionals’ economic security and threatens future job opportunities.
Generative AI is raising the stakes for effective global IP enforcement. Absent safeguards and appropriate transparency, AI will become a sophisticated, deceptive tool for content theft and the unauthorized digital replication of individuals’ voices and likenesses. Special 301 Reports can help protect against efforts to weaken, distort, or ignore copyright and IP protections in order to advantage AI developers at the expense of America’s workers.”
About DPE
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.