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Policy Recommendations

Intellectual property

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Market access

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Privacy and data protection

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Public procurement

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Security

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Social responsibility

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Sustainability and product compliance

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Taxation and economic incentives

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Intellectual property protection is essential to innovation. Each year, HP invests significant resources to develop cutting-edge technology products and drive the next waves of innovation. We support strong protection of intellectual property rights in every market, putting this into action with our leading anti-counterfeiting program. Counterfeiters produce illegitimate HP products (largely ink and toner cartridges) that deceive millions of customers. Clone cartridges, new products manufactured by third parties that attempt to imitate HP cartridges that often infringe on our IP, do not always adhere to quality, safety or environmental standards,1 and can permanently damage the printer.2

 

We encourage patent reform measures to protect against frivolous litigation, unwarranted product exclusion, and excessive licensing fees unrelated to patent value. HP also promotes the reform and phasing out of obsolete copyright levies systems and replacement by alternative means of compensation.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Stronger enforcement of existing IP laws, deterrent sentencing, and increased government resources to combat counterfeiting.
  • Adoption of best practices in public procurement and online marketplaces to prevent counterfeit sales.
  • Reform/phasing out of levies and replacement by alternative compensation. Levies should not be expanded to new products (i.e., 3D printers).
  • Patent reform measures to protect against frivolous litigation, unwarranted product exclusion, and excessive licensing fees unrelated to patent value. Additional definition and codification is needed for Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND/RAND) licensing terms.
  • Legal environments that protect IP and facilitate growth of 3D printing, including industry-led, voluntary technical protection measures.

 

 

1. Environmental standards refers to voluntary indoor air quality standards. For details, see http://www.spencerlab.com/reports/HPReliability-EMEA-2016.pdf, http://industries.ul.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/08/2017.08.Printers_Toner_Cartridges_IAQ_Alternate.pdf and https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/products/office/drucker-und-multifunktionsgeraete-2017

2.- For details, see www.marketstrategies.com/hp/EMEA-Technician2016.pdf (toner cartridges) and http://keypointintelligence.com/media/1609/hp-emea-refill-study_rep.pdf (ink cartridges)

At HP, our vision is to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere — every person, every organization, and every community around the globe. Open international trade is an essential part of delivering this vision throughout the world. HP supports the opening of markets through trade agreements and other measures that reduce and eliminate duties and non-tariff barriers on IT products and services.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Regional and sectoral trade agreements that reduce or eliminate duties and non-tariff barriers on our products and services. Trade agreements should promote strong protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, regulatory transparency and convergence, trade and customs facilitation, and national treatment. Trade agreements should also address emerging non-tariff barriers affecting the high-tech sector, including allowing cross-border data flows and limiting data localization requirements.
  • Rapid implementation of the tariff eliminations agreed to in the World Trade Organization’s expanded Information Technology Agreement (ITA), which covers an estimated $1.3 trillion trade in technology products.1
  • Duty-free treatment for 3D printing systems and accessories. HP encourages considerations for these products in the ITA review starting in 2018. We are also working closely with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to establish the foundational harmonized system (HS) classification codes for 3D systems and accessories to provide clarity for global customs authorities.
  • Use of global standards to enable access to the best technologies. Governments should recognize suppliers’ declarations of conformity and reduce regulatory barriers to trade. Redundant in-country testing and physical inspection requirements and certifications schemes can act as market barriers.

 

1. https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/inftec_e/briefingnoteita_e.htm

HP recognizes the fundamental importance of privacy and data protection. We prioritize protecting the privacy of our customers and employees. We respect and protect the personal data entrusted to us with globally consistent standards and policies that go beyond legal minimums and employ sophisticated cybersecurity protections. Our practices aim to provide the highest levels of privacy and data protection for our customers, employees, and partners.

 

HP is one of only a handful of companies to successfully obtain multiple privacy recognitions/certifications, including the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield, Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) in Europe, and APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR). In the EU, we are engaged on the Article 29 Working Party (WP29) implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR).

 

HP’s Privacy Office and Government Relations teams work with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and industry groups around the world to advocate for responsible privacy and data protection regimes.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Robust and globally interoperable privacy and data protection regulations.
  • Accountability-based requirements for both the public and private sectors.
  • Implementation of GDPR aligned to the daily realities of implementing a successful privacy and data protection program. We encourage a certifications scheme that provides certainty to consumers and companies about good data protection management.

HP provides our public sector customers with versatile and manageable technology products and solutions that help boost productivity, improve security, and maximize IT investments. We encourage adoption of new, forward-looking IT procurement models—shortening timelines to align to commercial cycles, prioritizing security, and emphasizing leading edge and emerging technologies.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Procurements based on objective criteria and internationally recognized quality standards to ensure fair competition and access to the best global technologies. Transparency includes providing publicly accessible tender information. We encourage procurement officials to assess total cost of ownership and explore “as a service” approaches for devices and printing.
  • Public agencies to consider the acquisition of a device as a cybersecurity decision. Specifically, we recommend that public procurement tenders should include security requirements and encourage the adoption of robust security features on computers and printers to help protect government networks and information from threats.
  • Adoption of best practices to eliminate illegitimate printing supplies in public procurement.
  • Science-based justifications for any preferences for remanufactured/refilled cartridges.

As our world becomes ever more connected, cyber-attacks target critical and personal data with increasing frequency and sophistication. Typical response strategies focus on security software and data protection, but often do not take into consideration the security of devices themselves. To keep government systems and critical infrastructure safe from the most sophisticated attackers, we encourage heightened attention to device level security, including firmware.

 

Firmware attacks, those that take place in the embedded software (such as BIOS or UEFI) under the operating system, are a fast-growing attack vector. Using this route, an attacker could seize power over most device resources, including administration and control capabilities. Firmware attacks are usually near impossible to detect because firmware is invisible to the operating system and traditional software security applications.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Device security as part of cyber risk assessments in public and private sectors. Threat information sharing should include device threat intelligence. We encourage device security as required purchasing criteria in public sector procurement.
  • Cyber security requirements for technology products aligned to global standards. Unique local cyber-security requirements or restrictions and country-specific technical standards create challenges for commercial mass market products that do not recognize the global nature of the technology supply chain.
  • Certification schemes to consider cost, approval speed, market dynamics, and globally-recognized standards. Cybersecurity certification schemes, including self-certification, provide assurances to customers that the highest standards are applied in manufacturing and managing of IT products.
  • Any liability regulation should create the right incentives and leverage recognized standards and certification requirements. If implemented sensibly, liability regulation can be a tool to structure responsibilities within the supply chain of a connected device. However, liability should be proportional to the assessed risk in the context in which the device is deployed and used.

Through our actions and investments, we strengthen our communities and enable the development of society at large, and we act with integrity and respect for human rights around the world. Our supply chain responsibility program abides by three principles; we believe every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, our commitment extends beyond the factory floor, and we use our global reach to drive lasting improvements. HP has been a leader in the Responsible Minerals Initiative since its inception in 2007, and we were the first IT company to publish a list of our supply chain smelters and to have independent review.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Supply chain requirements that focus on driving change with direct suppliers, rather than applying requirements to extended supply chains outside the span of a company’s control. We support voluntary disclosures in lieu of mandatory reporting.
  • Retention of the U.S. conflict minerals reporting framework as an economic driver for smelters to responsibly source minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and surrounding countries. In the European Union, we support implementation of the Conflict Minerals Rule, which appropriately focuses on responsible smelter sourcing.
  • Protection of worker health and safety in the manufacturing process, including by responsibly managing process chemicals and adopting a precautionary approach to replace chemicals of concern. We encourage science-based policies, standards, and harmonized legislation to ensure that comprehensive hazard data are available for chemicals on the market and to eliminate or reduce known hazards.

Our commitment to sustainability is a powerful force for innovation in our business, pushing boundaries of energy efficiency and alternative energy use, ecological design and responsible product lifecycle management. HP advocates for prioritizing energy efficiency in government procurement, addressing climate change, promoting responsible and consistent materials and chemical use policies, and propelling the circular economy and responsible end-of-life electronics handling.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Governments’ commitments to the Paris Agreement and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other global efforts to limit global warming to 1.5C and reach net zero by 2050 or sooner. We encourage actions by all countries to enact policies that mitigate climate change and accelerate the transition to a zero carbon economy and a resilient and clean energy-based future while creating jobs and addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on disadvantaged communities and workers.
  • Global, harmonized approach to energy efficiency regulations and standards, including voluntary industry measures as regulatory alternatives to improve energy efficiency (EnergyStar®, EPEAT, and EU Voluntary Agreement on Imaging Equipment).
  • Responsible legislation on collection and recycling of used electronics that takes into account shared responsibilities, measurement of waste flows, workable flow systems, harmonized recycling standards and fair allocation of obligations.
  • Implementation of updated language adopted by the Basel Convention that recognizes the appropriate movement of nonworking products between countries to allow for proper repair or responsible recycling, and encourage countries to adopt this approach.
  • Purchasers, rather than regulation, driving the move to a circular economy through sustainable public procurement and harmonized sustainability criteria.
  • Ecolabels that allow product differentiation based on a full life-cycle impact (including materials, energy use, printer emission, noise level as well as take back systems and end-of life options). This enables consumers to differentiate products on their environmental performance and drive the business for design for environment.
  • Harmonized approaches across geographies on restrictions on substances of concern and responsible chemicals management.
  • Consideration of current regulatory frameworks as sufficient to address 3D printing sustainability issues (chemicals use, emissions/air quality, waste management, and health and safety).

We advocate for tax policies and economic incentives that encourage innovation, growth, and job creation worldwide. To accelerate the adoption of 3D printing, we encourage creative public-private partnerships to provide incentives for regional clusters around this technology.

 

We monitor and engage on international tax reform proposals under consideration through G-20 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

 

Policy Recommendations

 

We support:

  • Implementation of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which contained several key HP priorities to make U.S. multinationals more competitive.
  • Creation of public-private partnerships to provide incentives for development of regional clusters in 3D printing.
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