It’s widely understood that the world has moved into a knowledge economy, and that economic growth and individual empowerment today are driven more by breakthroughs in science, technology and creativity than by just supplying child labor or by working longer and harder.
Today, our health is improved by breakthroughs in biotech, pharmaceuticals and medical technology. Our productivity and flexibility is improved through communications technology, software and hardware innovation, new materials and new processes. Everything it seems is becoming lighter, stronger, faster, smaller, more powerful, more efficient and more convenient because of creativity and innovation.
But consumers are threatened rather than empowered by the counterfeiting of these products. A counterfeit drug, a counterfeit brake pad or a counterfeit circuit breaker pose obvious threats to health and safety. But all counterfeits threaten economic growth by depriving those who work in these creative and innovative industries of the recognition and revenue derived from their creativity.
So it makes sense that a number of nations have been engaged in negotiations over the last year or so on a new treaty designed to harmonize and coordinate efforts to protect intellectual property, to thwart piracy and counterfeiting, and to enhance consumer welfare while respecting and preserving differences in national laws and approaches to intellectual property.
The working text of the treaty, called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), was released this week to the public. We’ll have more to say about the details later, but there’s no doubt that it’s appropriate to engage in new international agreements like ACTA, designed to fight against counterfeit products that threaten health and safety of consumers, and threaten to deprive creators and inventors of their livelihoods.
We think seriously about intellectual property here at IPI because we realize that the US economy is increasingly dependent on our ability to invent, create, design and market new things. We are a creative and innovative nation, and if creativity and innovation are not protected and rewarded, we lose.
That’s one reason why, years ago, IPI became accredited as an observer organization with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and it’s why each year for the past five years IPI has sponsored the leading Washington DC event to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day. This year’s event is next Monday, April 26th, and IPI is sponsoring both a terrific policy forum in the morning, and a reception in the evening. There’s still room available (and CLE credits available) for attendees. If interested, RVSP to Erin Humiston at erin@ipi.org. We hope to see you there!