The Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator has provided an overview of the Biden administration’s intellectual property enforcement strategy during fiscal year 2021 in its annual report to Congress.

IPEC detailed the policies enforced across the federal government to defend the U.S. intellectual property against adversarial threats, the White House said Friday.

Specifically, the report tackled coordinated efforts of the departments of Commerce, Defense, Agriculture, Homeland Security, State, Health and Human Services and Treasury, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Copyright Office.

Among the programs highlighted in the report are the IP training initiative of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service that educates scientists on insider threats and export controls reviews and the Commercial Law Development Program of the Commerce Department that aims to help enhance protection of intellectual property rights in foreign countries.

The report also discussed the Pentagon’s Protecting Critical Technology Task Force established in 2018 to protect the defense industrial base and assess foreign investment and acquisition risks.

Over 400 suppliers from the U.S. industrial base discussed their challenges and opportunities with regard to combat vehicle production in a virtual conference hosted by BAE Systems.

The event tackled opportunities that BAE’s combat vehicle supplier base can pursue with customers from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, and was attended also by congressional representatives, the company said Friday.

Approximately 1,000 suppliers from 45 states compose BAE’s U.S. industrial base for combat vehicle production.

“The work being done by the folks that make up our defense industrial base is critical to our national security,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans on Thursday upheld the White House’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement for federal employees in a 2-1 ruling, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The decision of the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed a ruling by a federal district court judge in Texas against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate in January.

The appeals court ruled that unvaccinated employees seeking to avoid discipline should file their complaints with the Merit Systems Protection Board instead of the courts since the mandate was an employment action that the Civil Service Reform Act covers.

In mid-January, the Supreme Court blocked the U.S. government’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirement for large private businesses but allowed the administration to implement a vaccine mandate for over 10 million health care workers whose facilities take part in Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The White House also ordered a vaccination mandate for federal contractors but faced a legal setback in December after a district court judge in Georgia decided to prohibit the administration from implementing the requirement.

The Small Business Administration is looking for start-ups with technology developed through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs to join its inaugural competition.

SBA said Friday it will accept applications from small businesses until April 22 to attend America’s Seed Fund Startup Expo that will take place virtually on May 25.

In the competition guidelines, the SBA Office of Investment and Innovation said it will select up to 12 start-ups supported by America’s Seed Fund to join the competition and connect with the resources they need to compete in the global marketplace.

The competition will showcase research and development projects focused on areas including agriculture technology, climate and energy, supply chain resiliency and national security.

“With the launch of SBA’s first America’s Seed Fund Expo, we will showcase exceptional entrepreneurs who have leveraged federal R&D funding in key industries and highlight the resources to advance these game-changing innovations right here in America,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.