GIPC Speaker Series
The GIPC Speaker Series provides a platform to raise awareness, understanding, and support for the value of intellectual property-among policymakers, congressional leaders, members of the media, as well as the general public. The series also highlights the critical role IP rights play in spurring innovation, creating jobs, driving America’s economic growth and competitiveness, and protecting consumers from substandard or counterfeit products. Speakers represent a variety of experiences, industries, and policy perspectives.
This summer we marked the launch of GIPC’s international pro-IP advocacy campaign, IP Delivers, with a keynote from James Pooley, Deputy Director General for Innovation and Technology at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The event also featured a panel of innovative and creative voices, who touched on IP Delivers’ four core messages: intellectual property delivers jobs, innovation, safety, and access. Panelists included:
Dr. Raul Cuero, Inventor and Founder of the International Park of Creativity in Colombia
Alden Zecha, Chief Financial Officer and Strategist for Sproxil, Inc.
Adam Mossoff, Professor of Law at George Mason University
To view video of the event, please click here.
December 16, 2011: U. S. Patent and Trademark Office IP Attachés Roundtable
In December, the GIPC hosted our fifth annual United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) IP Attachés Roundtable, with the keynote address delivered by USPTO Deputy Director Teresa Stanek Rea. This year’s panels provided the opportunity to delve into several key areas of IP, including: the successes and challenges faced by each of the IP Attachés in their host countries; regional initiatives to promote IP protection and enforcement; and the discrepancies between domestic IP policies and positions in multilateral negotiations. Links to audio and agenda below:
Welcome Remarks (Audio)
Mark Elliot – Executive Vice President, Global Intellectual Property Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Panel 1: Protecting IP Abroad: Successes and Challenges (Audio)
Conrad Wong, Guangzhou, China, Foreign Commercial Service
Nancy Kremers, Beijing, China, Foreign Commercial Service
Peter Fowler, Bangkok, Thailand, Foreign Commercial Service
Albert Keyack, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Foreign Commercial Service
Kalpana Reddy, New Delhi, India, Foreign Commercial Service
Todd Reves, Geneva, Switzerland (WIPO), Foreign Commercial Service
Moderated by: Miti Sathe, Director, International IP (India/Special Projects), Global Intellectual Property Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Panel 2: Regional Initiatives to Promote IP Protection and Enforcement (Audio)
Conrad Wong, Guangzhou, China, Foreign Commercial Service
Nancy Kremers, Beijing, China, Foreign Commercial Service
Peter Fowler, Bangkok, Thailand, Foreign Commercial Service
Harrison C. Cook, Vice President, International Government Affairs, Eli Lilly and Company
Lila Feisee, Vice President for Global Intellectual Property Policy, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
Michael Schlesinger, Counsel to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA)
Moderated by: Gina Vetere, Executive Director, International IP, Global Intellectual Property Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Keynote Address: A Five-Year Retrospective on the IP Attachés Program (Audio)
Teresa Stanek Rea, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
Panel 3: How Does National IP Policy Drive the Geneva Debate? (Audio)
Albert Keyack, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Foreign Commercial Service
Kalpana Reddy, New Delhi, India, Foreign Commercial Service
Todd Reves, Geneva, Switzerland (WIPO), Foreign Commercial Service
Allison Mages, Senior Counsel for IP Procurement and Policy, General Electric (GE)
Benny Spiewak, Managing Partner, ZCBS Advogados
Moderated by: Aaron Smethurst, Director, International IP (Multilateral), Global Intellectual Property Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
For more information on the Roundtable, please see our blog post.
April 5, 2011: Copyright Protection in 2011 Featuring Maria Pallante
In April, GIPC kicked off its Speaker Series with Maria Pallante, Acting Register of Copyrights, to discuss the current challenges to copyright protection in 2011. Ms. Pallante expressed her growing concern over the presence of rogue websites, or parasites, on the Internet and the urgent need to address that problem. In particular, the Acting Register noted the problem of infringement via cyberlockers and expressed the concern that rogue sites legislation not leave that unaddressed. She also noted the need to make criminal infringement by means of streaming over the Internet more clearly a basis for a felony conviction, and weighed in on the Google Books settlement.
November 9, 2010: Recent Successes and the Future of IP Enforcement
On November 9, the GIPC hosted its last Speaker Series event of 2010, focusing on a discussion of the successes of intellectual property (IP) enforcement in the past year and future plans to crack down on counterfeiting and piracy in the upcoming year. The event was highlighted by a keynote address by John Morton (pictured below), Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In commemorating Director Morton and ICE’s accomplishments this year, the GIPC presented Morton with an award for his steadfast commitment to IP enforcement. The event also featured a keynote address by Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, who discussed IP enforcement from the perspective of state law enforcement. General Gansler noted that he expects state attorneys general to become increasingly involved with anti-counterfeiting and piracy efforts, especially as it relates to enforcement of intellectual property rights online. General Gansler’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion of industry representatives including: David Green (NBC Universal), Kenneth Klug (Louis Vuitton), Carlos Linares (RIAA), Patrick Ford (Pfizer), and Brian Monks (Underwriters Laboratories).
click here.
On September 22, the GIPC Speaker Series hosted Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John Fernandez. At the event, the Assistant Secretary emphasized the Obama Administration’s commitment to fostering American innovation and competitiveness in the global market. He discussed the National Innovation Strategy, a plan that “encourages regional economic transformation through science, innovation, technology, commercialization, and entrepreneurship.” He also highlighted the Obama Administration’s Jobs and Innovation Partnership, an EDA-led initiative that helps build ecosystems where the private sector can help foster innovation product commercialization regionally, driving economic growth and creating jobs for America.
On July 21, the GIPC Speaker Series welcomed the honorable Paul R. Michel, recently retired Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. At Wednesday’s event, Judge Michel offered his view of America’s patent system and his recommendation to revitalize the innovation infrastructure that is so critical to our economic growth and global competitiveness. While emphasizing the importance of innovation and creativity to job creation, Judge Michel called on Congress and the Administration to reform the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in order to revitalize America’s patent system and speed up the patent approval process. Some of his recommendations included restoration of the $1 billion in patent user fees Congress diverted from the PTO, and authorization for the PTO to open offices outside the Washington DC area.
On May 27, the Global IP Center hosted an event entitled, “The Global Trade of Counterfeit Medicines in the Developing World” with participation from speakers representing a variety of experiences, industries, policy perspectives and international viewpoints. The event kicked off with a presentation by Dr. Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute, a well-known and established scholar who shared his latest paper detailing the growing problem of substandard and counterfeit drugs in India and the broader developing world.
Dr. Bate’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion that included Ashifi Gogo, a Ghanaian entrepreneur and CEO of Sproxil, Inc ., Dr. Vishal Patel of the U.S. Department of State, and Scott LaGanga of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (pictured below in respective order.) Representing various backgrounds and experiences, the panelists all emphasized the strong need to improve the protection and enforcement of IP rights in order to curtail the growing tide of counterfeit drugs.
In recognition of the 2010 World IP Day, the GIPC Speaker Series was proud to welcome Dr. Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, as our inaugural guest for the Speaker Series. Dr. Hormats discussed the important role intellectual property (IP) plays in our economy and the current efforts of the U.S. Government, specifically the Department of State, to help support the protection of IP rights.
