Senator Coons has been hard at work on the complex issue of protecting American intellectual property from theft by foreign criminals. After hearing from local businesses, both large and small, about the importance of this issue, Chris recently said “protecting American innovation is an economic imperative, and whether that innovation comes in the form of an idea, a design, or a product.”
President Obama’s budget proposal also recognizes the imperative of protecting innovation and through that, American jobs. It includes several solutions, such as:
- Improve the Patent System and Protect Intellectual Property. The budget proposes to give the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) full access to its fee collections and strengthen USPTO’s efforts to improve the speed and quality of patent examinations through reforms authorized by the America Invents Act. This will provide the USPTO with more than $2.9 billion in resources in 2013.
- Strengthen Enforcement. The budget supports strengthened intellectual property enforcement domestically and overseas as set out in the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator’s Joint Strategic Plan required by Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (Pro-IP).
- Promotes Innovation by Protecting Intellectual Property Rights. The Administration proposes devoting nearly $40 million to identify and defeat intellectual property criminals, an increase of $5 million over 2012. The Administration’s efforts have already resulted in shutting down 350 websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works. Additionally, international partnerships and joint initiatives have enabled experts to train or educate in IP protection more than 2,500 foreign judges, prosecutors, investigators, and other officials from over 30 countries.