WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) today partnered with the Confederation of British Industry for the Third Annual Global Intellectual Property Forum in London.  Taking place on the eve of the G-20 Summit, today’s discussion focused on the role of intellectual property (IP) rights in stimulating job-creating innovation.

“Protecting and promoting IP is an essential instrument of innovation that will lead to the recession-beating economic growth and job creation that G-20 leaders are pursuing,” said Mark T. Esper, executive vice president of the Chamber’s GIPC.  “As the urgency surrounding this week’s G-20 Summit underscores, we are in the midst of very difficult times.  And yet, there is hope because we know that all over the world today, entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers and engineers are hard at work in pursuit of the next great inventions that will rejuvenate the global economy.”

Today’s forum participants engaged in roundtable discussions on incentive-based invention, innovation in the developing world and the IP system’s future in a changing global marketplace.  Attendees included representatives from the British House of Commons, British Brands Group, Diageo, International Federation of Phonographic Industry, UK Intellectual Property Office, Unilever, University of Oxford and World Intellectual Property Organization, among other organizations.

“For centuries, innovation has driven economic growth, allowing us to flourish in good times while pulling us out of rough patches like the one we are in today,” said Esper.  “The importance of protecting and incentivizing innovation is a message G-20 leaders, policymakers and the public needs to hear – now more than ever.”

John Cridland, deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry said, “The importance of IP is increasingly recognised by companies and policy makers alike.  Strong IP rights and properly functioning regimes protect stocks of intellectual property and are essential for encouraging innovation.

“In the UK, they will help encourage high-value manufacturing and services which are important for future economic growth, and help the country attract research and development investment,” Cridland added.

The Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center is working around the world to champion IP as vital to creating jobs, saving lives, advancing global economic growth and generating breakthrough solutions to global challenges.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.