UNITED
STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE
Introduction
Chairman Voinovich, Ranking Member
Akaka, and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for inviting me to
testify today. I want to thank you all
for your leadership on the issue of intellectual property theft.
I appreciate this opportunity to
discuss the progress we have made in promoting effective protection and
enforcement of Americans' intellectual property rights here and abroad.
I am pleased to join my colleagues
with whom we are united through the White House-led STOP! initiative to combat
the growing problem of global piracy and counterfeiting. STOP! is a comprehensive government-wide
initiative that brings together all the major players to protect the
intellectual property assets of
Unlike some of our colleagues in
this comprehensive effort, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) personnel
do not carry a badge or a gun, and are not authorized to seize or destroy
illicit merchandise or prosecute those who market such merchandise.
What USPTO brings to this initiative
is expertise in domestic and international intellectual property law, policy
and procedure. We consult, advise and
otherwise share that expertise with the American public – including small and
medium sized enterprises – other Federal agencies, the Congress, and foreign
officials.
Because American intellectual
property owners compete in a global marketplace, our efforts include the
promotion of effective intellectual property protection internationally. We
help provide American intellectual property owners with sufficient knowledge
and legal tools to fight piracy and counterfeiting both home and abroad and
assist them in their enforcement efforts overseas. We also provide foreign
countries with technical assistance on drafting and implementing effective
intellectual property laws and promoting the effective enforcement of
intellectual property rights. I am
pleased to describe our ongoing efforts in more detail.
The USPTO coordinates, organizes and participates in intellectual property rights training, trade capacity building, and technical assistance programs throughout the world.
In the Fall of 2005, USPTO created the Global Intellectual
Property Academy (GIPA), which greatly expands USPTO-led training and capacity
building programs on intellectual property rights protection and
enforcement. Through the GIPA, USPTO
brings foreign government officials – including judges, prosecutors, police,
customs officers, patent, trademark and copyright officials and policy makers –
to the
By the end of FY 2006, the USPTO will have conducted 16
Global Intellectual Property Academy Programs for foreign officials at its
headquarters in
The USPTO manages a hotline (1-866-999-HALT) that helps
small-and medium-sized businesses leverage the resources of the U.S. Government
to protect their intellectual property rights in the
In fiscal year 2005, the Hotline received 955 calls. In fiscal year 2006, through July 5, 2006, we have received 1,048 calls through the Hotline.
Stopfakes.gov
The USPTO has
established a link on its website to www.stopfakes.gov
which provides in-depth details of the STOP! initiative. One key feature of the
website is the country specific “Toolkits” that have been created by our
embassies overseas to assist small- and medium-sized businesses with
intellectual property rights issues in
While counterfeiting and piracy pose
a serious threat to all American businesses, small businesses are particularly
at risk since they often lack the knowledge and expertise to effectively combat
it. Because small businesses typically do not have personnel or maintain large
operations in other countries, theft of their intellectual property overseas
can go undetected. As part of the STOP! initiative, in April of 2005 the USPTO
launched an intensive national public awareness campaign to help educate small
businesses on protecting their intellectual property both here and abroad.
According to the U.S. Small Business
Administration,
The campaign consists of market research,
stakeholder outreach, earned media outreach, online outreach, and conferences.
The market research we conducted overwhelmingly shows that small businesses are
not aware that their intellectual property rights do not travel abroad,
underscoring the need for the campaign.
We used this market research to
design a campaign to educate small businesses on the information that is most
critical to their success, and about which the most misinformation exists.
The USPTO conferences have been conducted throughout the
country including
The USPTO will continue to hold small-business outreach seminars to give American businesses face-to-face contact with intellectual property experts.
This is a 2-day program offered free of charge to the public designed to raise awareness of intellectual property in general, and increase awareness among small businesses of the new realities of counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property. The program explains the government’s role in enforcing IP rights and also the IP owners’ responsibilities.
The conference consists of presentations by our
attorney-advisors on patents, trademarks, copyright, the patent cooperation
treaty, trade secrets, and the problems
Furthermore, we produce a handout workbook with all of the presentations for the conference attendees, and allow time for questions and answers. Additionally, this year we have added a new feature of our conference, which are the one-on-one consultations with our attorney-advisors. The small businesses have really taken advantage of this service.
Additionally, we gather written evaluations at each program, and modify the programs based on evaluations results.
We have also hosted
special educational outreach conferences on
Our
The USPTO has reached out to both government and non-government stakeholders to help publicize the conferences and the campaign. Some of the organizations that we have worked with to promote awareness of the conferences and of the issue of IP theft are: Small Business Administration, Minority Business Development Centers, U.S. Export Assistance Centers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Intellectual Property Owners Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Service Core Of Retired Executives, National Federation of Independent Business, and United Inventors Association.
In December 2005, six months into
the small business education campaign, the USPTO conducted a second, follow-up
survey to help measure the results of campaign efforts.
Overall, the survey showed
significant and positive improvements between the target markets (those in
which we conducted a conference), taken collectively, and the national
sample. For example, respondents from
the four target markets were more than twice as likely to have seen, read or
heard something about IP protection for small businesses (31% in the target
markets vs. 15% nationally). Respondents in the target markets were also more
confident in their knowledge of IP terms (22% vs. 14%) and rights (59% vs. 39%)
than those in the national sample.
Awareness that the best time to apply for IP
protection is before the product is brought to market jumped from 19% before
the campaign to 85%.
We found that people in the target markets
were more likely to have applied for protection than the national sample. Respondents in the target markets were
significantly more likely to say they have taken steps to ensure that they have
patent, trademark, or copyright protection overseas (52% vs. 18%).
Almost one-fourth of small businesses in
target markets said they had been in contact with USPTO, while only 10%
nationally said so.
Attendees leave our conferences recognizing
that IP protection is a business decision, and we have found that they take
action as a direct result of our awareness campaign.
We have been in contact with one
We found that intention to apply, and actual
applications both increase as you look at our target markets, compared to the
national sample. We found that 95% of respondents found the website useful and
almost as many (85%) found it easy to use.
In survey after survey of our conferences, we
see positive statements such as “the whole program shattered the myth of lazy,
apathetic federal government workers,” and “the best program I’ve undertaken
since beginning developing patents 15 years ago.”
In the last 4 conferences we have received a
rating of “Excellent” or “Good” from more than 90% of our attendees. Businesses of all types – from mom and pop
inventors to manufacturers to researchers to upstart technology companies – are
all gaining a better understanding of IP rights, and the new realities of IP in
the global market.
The USPTO also seeks to educate children on the value of ideas and creativity:
The
USPTO Office of Public Affairs coordinates a school visitation and event – in
conjunction with our IP in the Global Marketplace conferences – which is
attended by either the Under Secretary or me.
Some of the schools and students are already participating in special
programs for children created and promoted by USPTO and the National Inventor’s
Hall of Fame, such as
In January 2006, the USPTO launched a pilot intellectual property education initiative titled ©®eaTM. The ©®eaTM program involves a curriculum and national IP competition aimed at increasing students’ confidence in their abilities to explore, discover and create, while teaching them the importance of patents, trademarks, and copyrights in America’s history and future.
The
education curriculum is targeted for students in grades 2 through 12. Two weeks ago, nine contest finalists came to
USPTO and USCBP Cooperation
As part of STOP!, the USPTO began
working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) to streamline the
recordation process. The USCBP maintains
a trademark recordation system for trademarks registered at the USPTO to
prevent the importation of goods that infringe registered trademarks. The USPTO
now mails notices to new trademark registrants directing them to the services
that USCBP offers and has established a website link on the USPTO homepage
which contains the USCBP form for recordation.
Posting of Intellectual Property
Experts
In partnership with the Department
of Commerce's
Of note is the work the
In support of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
and other U.S. Government agencies, the USPTO plays a key role in the
negotiation and drafting of intellectual property provisions of free trade and
other international agreements. These
provisions generally require
We provide technical expertise in numerous negotiating rounds and the
necessary implementation discussions for free trade agreements. Mostly recently the USPTO has provided
assistance in negotiations with the Andean region,
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, the USPTO, the
Department of Commerce and the entire Administration recognize the increasing
significance of effective intellectual property protection for American businesses
and innovators. We have made combating
piracy and counterfeiting a top priority and look forward to working with you
and all interested parties to ensure that our efforts are successful.
Thank you.