Senate Bill Creates Intellectual Property Position Within USTR
A recent Senate bill adds a new Presidential-appointed position solely for the advancement and protection U.S. intellectual property interests. The Innovation Through Trade Act, S-660, was introduced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on March 22. It creates a Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator, a position with the rank of ambassador that requires Senate confirmation. The negotiator would be housed within the U.S. Trade Representative Office and would have authority to conduct trade negotiations and enforcement actions related to intellectual property protection.
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The position will “help guarantee that America remains at the forefront of innovation policy, that our trade agreements reflect the critical importance of intellectual property to our economy and that the preservation of high-standard IP protection and enforcement are at the forefront of every trade debate,” said Hatch in a March 26 statement. Specific responsibilities of the position include reflecting the “importance of intellectual property to the U.S. economy” and “vigorously representing the interests of U.S. workers, manufacturers, service providers, innovators and content creators,” the statement said. The negotiator would also advise Congressional committees on USTR actions to promote IP protection, and address foreign government actions “that have a significant adverse impact on the value of the United States innovation.”
Hatch introduced the bill the same day he and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., sent a letter to Acting USTR Demetrios Marantis calling for aggressive IP protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (here). It should include the same level of protections under current U.S. law, the letter said, including 12 years of data protection for biological pharmaceuticals; a topic Senators grilled Marantis on at his recent Finance Committee hearing (see 13032003). Baucus and Hatch cited a recent Commerce Department report that says in 2010, IP-intensive industries contributed more than $5 trillion and 40 million jobs to the U.S. economy. “Given the significance of the TPP, and with countries like India and China watching closely, the United States cannot afford to get this wrong,” the letter said.