Don't Forget To Protect IP, Groups Urge On World IP Day

The folks that make their living off of intellectual property are using World Intellectual Property Day to remind the world - and especially Congress - about the need to provide additional protections for copyrighted content and trademarked goods.

"Respect for intellectual property is essential to the success of nations that aspire to greater development as well as key to maintaining the economies of developed nations," Motion Picture Association of America head Chris Dodd said. "World Intellectual Property Day is a time to reflect on the economic as well as cultural contributions intellectual creativity has produced and renew our commitment to value intellectual creation as we do physical creation." The House and Senate Judiciary committees are expected to offer legislation this year to give law enforcement officials extra tools to crack down websites that offer pirated content or counterfeit goods, particularly those based abroad. At a Capitol Hill event representatives from the Association for Competitive Technology and the Chamber of Commerce's Global Intellectual Property Center tried to persuade a room full of congressional staffers to push their bosses to support the legislation.

Commerce Sec Gary Locke said, "Innovation is at the heart of U.S. job creation, competitiveness and global strength, and today, in celebrating the 11th anniversary of World Intellectual Property Day, we are reminded of how critical intellectual property rights are to driving innovation and unleashing the ingenuity of the American people.... A strong intellectual property system enables successful inventors to secure access to capital and hire employees – creating new jobs, new industries and new economic opportunities for Americans."