Global Innovation Policy Center

Recently, President Donald Trump proclaimed November 2017 as National Entrepreneurship Month. He called it a time to celebrate “one of our Nation’s proudest qualities: our innovative, hardworking, entrepreneurial spirit.”

At GIPC, we believe one of the best ways to nurture the American entrepreneurial spirit is to maintain a strong IP system. Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets help protect entrepreneurs’ investments. If American entrepreneurs can think it up, they should have the security to move forward knowing that their ideas have value. By ensuring that intellectual property is protected and not undermined through infringement, we preserve the incentive to innovate.

This incentive to innovate not only inspires the amazing products and services that appear in the marketplace each day, it drives a knowledge-driven economy valued in the trillions. According to the U.S. Small Business Association, among high patenting firms (classified as generating “15 or more in a four-year period), small businesses produced 16 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms. IP-intensive industries, including the entrepreneurial sector, employ more than 45 million Americans and account for more than 38 percent of U.S. GDP. In short, American entrepreneurial contributions are significant, spurring innovative activity and growing the American economy.

Fortunately, American entrepreneurial growth doesn’t seem to be slowing any time soon. A survey published by EY and Economic Innovation Group estimated that 62 percent of millennials have considered starting their own business. And even more encouraging is that 72 percent of millennials feel entrepreneurship is “essential” for economic growth and job creation. With sentiments like these, we can expect more young Americans to take the plunge into entrepreneurship in the coming years.

We can also expect more American women to embrace entrepreneurship. As the demographics of American entrepreneurs have changed in recent years, there has been a surge of women starting new businesses. President Trump highlighted this fact in his proclamation: “The number of women-owned firms is growing much faster than the national average for all firms. Our Nation has more than 11 million women-owned businesses that employ nearly 9 million people and generate more than $1 trillion in revenue.”

It’s clear: American entrepreneurship is booming. In order to sustain entrepreneurial development, our policymakers must safeguard the strong American IP system and strengthen that system even further.

As President Trump said, “The American Dream should be within reach of all those who work hard.” With strong IP protections in place, Americans can be confident that they can transform their own dreams into life-changing inventions with the power to change the world.

So, join us in celebrating our entrepreneurs, be they creators, inventors, designers, engineers, or artists. Join us in applauding their contributions this November and year-round.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Courtney Paul is the manager of communications for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center.