The State of American Business 2013
By Mark Elliot
“From top to bottom we need more success in America. We need to nurture success, empower it, reward it, and celebrate it.”
With tough economic times holding onto the coattails of 2013, success in the form of entrepreneurship, jobs, innovation, and competitiveness topped the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 American Jobs and Growth Agenda.
In his remarks today, the Chamber’s President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue touched on numerous policies that will seize and amplify the momentum toward greater growth and economic recovery.
As Mr. Donohue rightly points out, empowering, rewarding, and celebrating innovators is a necessity to driving the U.S. forward. To do this, we cannot turn our backs on those who succeed and strive to succeed—and strong intellectual property rights are essential to achieve this.
“The Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center will continue to lead a vigorous effort throughout the year, at home and abroad, to protect IP and the millions of high paying, high quality jobs it supports.”
As we move forward into 2013 and Congress tackles big issues, the GIPC will continue to advocate for big solutions. This includes concluding and enacting gold-standard trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); fighting the theft of American products which threaten consumers, our military, and business; and ensuring our enforcement partners have the tools and resources needed to ensure enforcement against counterfeiting and piracy’s deleterious drain on our economy.
Over the past two hundred-plus years, IP rights have provided a foundation for success in America. Free enterprise helped bring us to the top, and free enterprise will keep us there.
