As we celebrate the 12th annual World Intellectual Property (IP) Day, we find ourselves reflecting on the progress that has been made in the past year in protecting American IP, as well as the barriers we still face in preventing theft of our ideas and innovation.
Senator Coons has been hard at work on the complex issue of protecting American intellectual property from theft by foreign criminals. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chris has supported various pieces of legislation addressing issues such as prevention of IP theft over the internet (Protect IP Act), theft by foreign entities (Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act ) and the trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceuticals (Counterfeit Drug Penalty Enhancement Act).
Copyright infringement and the sale of counterfeit goods cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, in addition the billions of dollars in lost tax revenue for federal, state and local governments and the threat to the safety and wellbeing of consumers.
Every year on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day celebrates how IP fosters and encourages innovation and creativity. To increase understanding of what IP really means, the World Intellectual Property Organization chose April 26 – the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970 – as World IP Day. Since then, IP Day has provided an opportunity to highlight, discuss and demonstrate how the IP system contributes to music and the arts and to driving the technological innovation that helps shape our world. World IP Day 2012 focuses on Visionary Innovators – individuals whose ingenuity and artistry have broken molds, opened new horizons and made a lasting impact.
Click here to learn more about Chris’ work on the Judiciary Committee.