World Intellectual Property Day Resolution
H.RES. 314

Problem:

Intellectual property is critical to our Nation’s economic competitiveness in today’s global economy.  It is the only sector of our economy that runs a trade surplus with every nation in the world, and over 50 percent of United States exports rely on some form of intellectual property.  Given these astounding numbers, it is no surprise that intellectual property assets represent more than 17 percent of our national Gross Domestic Product. 

Intellectual property plays a prominent role in high-tech industries, medicine, sciences, and humanities, however it is under constant threat.  The United States and many other countries are continually combating piracy- piracy that hurts businesses and affects the quality of life for millions of Americans.  Approximately 10 percent of all pharmaceutical drugs on the market are counterfeit- endangering patients.  In addition, the American motion pictures, music, and publishing industries lose billions to piracy. 

Solution:

Given the importance of protecting intellectual property in today’s global market, I introduced H.RES. 314, a resolution supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day.  With this resolution, the Congress of the United States joins the other 184 member countries of the World Intellectual Property Organization acknowledging the importance of copyright law in improving the everyday lives of Americans and ability of sound intellectually property law to encourage creativity. 
 
Bill Text:

110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 314
Supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 17, 2007
Mr. WEXLER (for himself, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. COBLE, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mrs. BONO, Ms. WATSON, and Mr. ISSA) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day, and for other purposes.
Whereas intellectual property is the backbone of the Nation's economic competitiveness and the only sector where the United States has a trade surplus with every nation in the world;
Whereas well over 50 percent of United States exports now depend on some form of intellectual property, compared to less than 10 percent 50 years ago;
Whereas intangible assets that stem from intellectual property--such as high-value services, global branding, technological know-how, and scientific research--must be recognized as cornerstones in achieving continued economic growth and cultural development in a 21st century world;
Whereas intellectual property assets today represent more than one third of the value of United States-based corporations and more than 17 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States;
Whereas intellectual property plays a significant role in an increasingly broad range of services, ranging from the Internet to health care to nearly all aspects of science and technology and literature and the arts, and the Nation's potential for innovation and invention must be fostered as its greatest attribute;
Whereas the United States and all countries share the challenge of combating piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property, including illicit trade in life-saving drugs, cutting edge technologies, film, music, books, and inventions that affect the quality of life every day;
Whereas such piracy and counterfeiting have a deep impact on economies around the world, translate into lost jobs, lost earnings, and lost tax revenues, and threaten public health and safety;
Whereas counterfeit drugs account for 10 percent of all pharmaceuticals and as much as 60 percent in developing countries; counterfeiting costs the automotive parts industry $12,000,000,000 annually; for every two dollars' worth of software obtained legally, one dollar's worth is obtained illegally; and it is estimated that counterfeiting accounts for 5 to 7 percent of world trade;
Whereas motion picture piracy now results in lost revenue among all United States industries of $20,500,000,000 annually; the recording industry loses about $4,200,000,000 annually to piracy worldwide; it is estimated that American publishers lost over $580,000,000 in 2006 due to copyright piracy; and global piracy is estimated to have cost the United States entertainment software industry more than $3,000,000,000 in 2004, not including losses attributable to Internet piracy;
Whereas the World Intellectual Property Organization, with its 184 member states, is the primary organization in the world focused on the development and protection of intellectual property rights for all creators and all countries;
Whereas World Intellectual Property Day provides an opportunity to reflect on how intellectual property touches all aspects of people's lives--how copyright helps music to be heard and art, films, and literature to be seen, how industrial design helps shape the world in which people live, how trademarks provide reliable signs of quality, and how patenting helps promote ingenious inventions that make life easier, faster, safer, and sometimes completely changes the way people live;
Whereas the theme of 2007 World Intellectual Property Day is `Encouraging Creativity,' and presents an opportunity to encourage young people in the United States to recognize the creator, the problem-solver, and the artist within to produce the entrepreneurs, the scientists, the designers, and the artists of tomorrow;
Whereas April 26, 1970, was the date on which the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force;
Whereas in 2000, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization established World Intellectual Property Day to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development and growth of societies across the globe and to highlight the importance and practical use of intellectual property in everyone's daily lives; and
Whereas April 26, 2007, has been designated as World Intellectual Property Day, a time to celebrate the importance of intellectual property to the United States and the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the goals of World Intellectual Property Day to promote, inform, and teach the importance of intellectual property as a tool for economic, social, and cultural development;
(2) recognizes the ever-increasing importance of intellectual property and the new challenges and serious threats to its protection, which affect prospects for future growth of the United States economy;
(3) supports robust and ongoing efforts to protect the health and well-being of citizens in the United States from fraudulent and illegal counterfeiting and piracy, such as those led by the National Intellectual Property Coordination Council and the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy;
(4) congratulates the World Intellectual Property Organization for building awareness of the value of intellectual property and developing the necessary infrastructure to help citizens take full advantage of their own creativity; and
(5) applauds the ongoing contributions of human creativity and intellectual property to growth and innovation and for the key role they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter and stronger future for the Nation and the world.

back to Wexler Bills