Chamber Welcomes IPEC’s Second Annual Report on IP Enforcement
Statement by Mark Elliot, Executive Vice President of the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center
“The Chamber’s Global IP Center applauds Victoria Espinel, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, for today’s release of the second Annual Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement. We commend Victoria for her continued leadership and the federal agencies that play a role in making great strides to strengthen IP enforcement this year.
“The implementation of the 2010 Joint Strategic Plan is a major step forward to address intellectual property theft and protect the businesses that depend on a robust IP regime and the 19 million Americans that they employ. As evidenced in today’s report, the IPEC’s office has made tremendous efforts since the release of Joint Strategy Plan to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of federal IP enforcement. We are also pleased to see that the Administration commits to advance proactive measures that would shore up the protection of American innovation and creativity.
“While we commend the progress made thus far, we would be remiss not to also acknowledge that the IPEC’s office has made significant progress with limited resources, staff, and budget. Therefore, we urge the Administration and Congress to expand on current enforcement efforts and ensure there are dedicated resources throughout the government, including the Office of the IPEC, to effectively enforce and promote IP rights both at home and abroad.
“Protecting IP rights is a critical component of our economic resurgence, and vitally important to America’s competitiveness; successful implementation of the Joint Strategic Plan can serve as a path towards both. The Chamber stands ready to work with all stakeholders, Congress, and the Administration to further implement the plan and ensure that we comprehensively address the scourge of IP theft.”
