U.S. Says Protecting IP Rights a Top Trade Priority

(Reuters – Doug Palmer)

“Let’s be clear: IP (intellectual property) theft in overseas markets is a job killer, and it’s an export killer,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a speech to mark World Intellectual Property Day. As the United States encourages companies to pour more money into the development of environmentally friendly green technologies, “we must remain vigilant that the investments that American inventors make are not undermined by lax enforcement of intellectual property rights,” Kirk said. Trade in counterfeit goods costs tens of billions of dollars to the United States alone.

A study done for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated that industries including chemicals, petroleum, computer equipment, communications, semiconductors, autos, medical equipment and aerospace technologies which rely heavily on patents and other forms of intellectual property pay their workers about 60 percent more than non-IP-based industries. IP industries also account for about 60 percent of total U.S. exports, rising to $910 billion in 2007 from $665 billion in 2000, and about 65 percent of U.S. employment in sectors involved in trade, the NDP Consulting study found. Read more here.