As I discussed
in my last blog
in this series, the Global
Intellectual Property Center of the Chamber of Commerce held a conference
last week to celebrate the launch of its Second Annual International IP Index, Charting the Course. The proposals included in the Index and in the
presentations by conference panelists delivered the same unified message:
Strong IP protection systems lead to economic growth and innovation.
Senator Orrin
Hatch delivered a keynote presentation at the event. He focused on the
importance of strong intellectual property protections like other panelists,
but he was the only presenter to focus on the constitutional basis for
intellectual property protection. Senator Hatch recognized that the strong IP
system in the U.S., which leads the world in the latest Index, is firmly rooted
in the beliefs of our Founding Fathers and is “woven throughout the fabric of
our nation”:
Our
Founding Fathers
believed intellectual property to be so fundamental to America’s future
prosperity that they explicitly granted Congress the constitutional authority
to protect it … The fact is, strong intellectual property rights [are] a tool
of economic growth, not an impediment.
It is a simple truth – countries that
strengthen their intellectual property rights regimes enjoy economic benefits.
They attract more investment, more technology transfers, increased innovation,
and, ultimately, more prosperity for their citizens. Yet, despite these
fundamental truths, intellectual property protections around the globe are
continually at risk.
Our Founding Fathers recognized the role that intellectual property
protection would play in our future and they have been proven right. As our
innovators continue to advance and compete globally, now, more than ever, the
United States must heed the wisdom of our Founders and bring this lesson to the
forefront of our trade policies. It is through strong protection of innovation
that we developed as a nation, and it is through the protection of innovation
that our nation will continue to thrive in the international arena.
While the
value of strong IP protections may be gaining support in the U.S., there is
still strong anti-IP sentiment both at home and abroad. Here in the U.S., some
argue for weaker IP protections, and point to disruptive technologies which
challenge traditional notions of content ownership and patentable innovation.
These developments have indeed strained the existing IP framework, and action
may be required to form a better IP framework for the digital age. The Index recognizes that the U.S.
struggles in these areas, identifying
issues like inconsistent applications of limitations and exceptions to
copyrights and related rights and ambiguity concerning ISP obligation to
respond to trademark holder notice of infringement as “key areas of weakness.”
Anti-IP
sentiment is particularly strong abroad in many of the countries that ranked
low on the GIPC’s Index. Those countries, like India
and China, advocate for the free sharing of copyrightable or patentable works
by arguing that doing so is for the “public good.” In fact, the opposite is
true — IP protections create incentives for creation and innovation, which
serve the public good. Elaine Wu, Attorney-Advisor at the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office and Michael Schlesinger, Counsel at the International
Intellectual Property Alliance, particularly focused on the problem of
anti-property rights rhetoric abroad. They recognized that government officials
perpetuate this backwards perspective, because the voices of authors and
inventors are not heard.
Anti-IP
advocates should heed the message of Senator Hatch and recognize that strong IP
rights established by the Founding Fathers have produced economic growth and
innovation. Further, as FSF scholars have observed in Perspectives and blogs, James Madison’s theory that “the public good fully coincides … with the
claims of individuals” should provide the foundation for IP protection
frameworks. This statement from Federalist No. 43 expresses the idea that an IP
system can serve the public good by meeting the public’s demand for information
access, content sharing, and use of new inventions or products while also
providing strong protection for authors’ and inventors’ rights.
In order to
help other countries around the world improve their economies and the lives of
their citizens, it is helpful to present facts and figures that demonstrate the
positive effects of strong IP protection. And it is also important to recognize
the constitutional roots of intellectual property protection. The Founding
Fathers intended that one of the government’s primary purposes
be to protect property rights. This protection for the works of authors and
inventors has produced the positive economic impact discussed in the GIPC’s
Index and by GIPC panelists.
As Senator
Hatch urged, heeding the wisdom of our Founding Fathers by retaining a strong
IP system will provide incentives for creation of all kinds of valuable works –
ranging from literary works and music on the one hand to practical new products
and services on the other. This, in turn, will fuel further innovation and
economic development for generations to come.
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