Obama nominates Espinel for IP czar
The Obama administration on Friday nominated Victoria Espinel as co-ordinator for intellectual property enforcement, a new position demanded by the entertainment industry to help it battle copyright theft.
Ms Espinel’s role, shortened to IP ‘czar’ long before the current administration’s fondness for czars became a political issue, was created last year as part of a bill that also imposes severe penalties in counterfeiting cases.
“Intellectual property protection, promotion, and enforcement will now be rightly elevated to the highest level of the executive branch, an important sign about the administration’s commitment to protecting jobs throughout America’s IP-intensive industries,” said Mark Esper, executive vice-president at the US Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber estimates almost 18m workers in the US are employed in sectors for which intellectual property is a substantial part of business.
