Please contact Scott Hall at smhall@uschamber.com or 202-463-5817.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) provides one of the most unique opportunities in the history of international trade. Though the U.S. and European Union (EU) economies are high-standard already, a successful TTIP could greater harmonize intellectual property systems and increase coordination and cooperation on intellectual property rights between the two countries. The TTIP IP chapter could also set the highest standard of IP protection, which other countries around the world can emulate in order to best protect their own innovators and creators.
The importance of IP is well-documented through data on both sides of the pond. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, IP-intensive industries account for $5 trillion of U.S. GDP, 60% of U.S. exports, and 40 million American jobs. Late last year, the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) released a similar study, which found that IP-intensive industries create 77 million jobs and generate 40% of the total economic activity throughout the EU.
As co-chair for the intellectual property working group of the Business Coalition for Transatlantic Trade (BCTT), the U.S. Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center is at the forefront of advocacy regarding IPRs in trade agreements.
Objectives for the TTIP negotiations: