Statement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Upon The Conclusion Of The Global Intellectual Property Protection and Innovation Forum

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million members, issued the following statement upon the conclusion of the Global Intellectual Property ("IP") Protection and Innovation Forum, held in Beijing on March 27 and 28, 2007:

During two days of presentations by experts and intense discussions on how to best foster innovation and protect and enforce intellectual property rights ("IPR"), representatives from governments, industry associations, corporations, international organizations, and academia from the United States, China, Japan, Korea, the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore, and India, highlighted the importance of protecting and enforcing IPR in order to stimulate investment in innovation and research and development ("R&D") and thereby ensure consistent, sustainable, economic growth in a knowledge-based, global economy.

The U.S. Chamber is encouraged by the sense of shared responsibility that was espoused by all stakeholders to promote IPR education in schools, government, among businesses, and the general public, and to facilitate the sharing of best practices in IPR management, protection, and enforcement as well as greater cooperation among governments on the full range of IPR issues.

In addition, the U.S. Chamber observed a growing global consensus on the following principles and best practices in fostering innovation and IPR protection and enforcement:

• Governments can best stimulate innovation by supporting strong basic education, training a technology proficient workforce, funding basic scientific research and making that research available for commercialization by industry, and providing tax and related incentives for companies to invest in R&D.
• Innovation is best fostered where governments pursue market-oriented policies that encourage merit-based competition and allow users and producers flexibility in choosing among competing technologies. Furthermore, regulatory measures and mandates that limit choice can stifle competition and weaken incentives for both domestic and foreign companies to innovate. Legal regimes and government policies that allow multiple technology solutions to compete on their merits promote innovation and result in better products and lower prices for consumers.
• Market competition by entrepreneurs and enterprises is essential for sustained innovation and economic growth. To that end, governments should ensure that competition laws and related regimes are applied in a manner that promotes efficiency and consumer welfare and does not restrict the commercial exploitation of IPRs, or deter companies-whether domestic and foreign-from competing vigorously in the marketplace.
• Governments can play a critical role in fostering innovation by facilitating access to capital through development of sound and efficient financial and capital markets and dissemination of basic business and management know-how among enterprises, both of which are important to promote economies of scale in production and distribution.
• Weaknesses in IPR protection, in addition to undermining innovation, also threaten market order, free and fair competition, and tax receipts of governments, thereby undermining the public access to social services. Organized crime and the underground economy thrive in the absence of adequate IPR enforcement and a concerted effort to address private and public corruption.
• Strengthening of IPR laws and enforcement is an essential task for all governments. IPR laws should reflect international norms and be consistent with the standards agreed by nations belonging to the World Intellectual Property Forum, World Customs Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Interpol, and the World Trade Organization. Effective enforcement requires effective deterrence of illegal conduct, which in turn requires allocation of adequate government enforcement resources and sustained commitment.
• There exists a close link between IPR protection and consumer health and safety; there is a consequent need for governments to provide adequate resources for enforcement (criminal, administrative and civil).
• The increasing globalization of production and trade makes it vital that governments strengthen efforts to harmonize their laws and avoid divergent or conflicting enforcement practices and remedies. Governments should cooperate in all aspects of IPR protection, including education, awareness-raising, and enforcement.
• As efforts to deal with "hard" infringements in retail and wholesale markets are strengthened, copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting continue to shift further to the online environment. This newest battlefront for IP protection-the Internet-increases the urgency for countries to update relevant laws, increase enforcement capacity, and develop better structures for inter-governmental and public-private sector collaboration.

Through its global initiatives to promote regulatory cooperation and address counterfeiting and piracy challenges, the U.S. Chamber will continue to press for positive changes in the global environment affecting innovation and IPR protection and enforcement. In that regard, we emphasize the importance of transparency in all forms of IPR protection and enforcement by both governments and industry around the world, including through the publication and exchange of information on both achievements and continuing challenges in enforcement work. Increased transparency is a critical prerequisite for promoting increased understanding and cooperation on the many global challenges in the areas of innovation and IPR protection.

The U.S. Chamber will closely study the results of the statements and findings of the participants in the IP Protection and Innovation Forum and explore the options for establishing further research and education programs based thereon. The U.S. Chamber will also continue to hold events similar to the Innovation Forum in the United States and around the world.