Chamber Advances IP Initiative

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. Chamber is increasing its efforts to protect intellectual property (IP) by educating small businesses on the growing epidemic of counterfeiting and piracy and by calling on Congress and the administration to toughen existing laws.

 

"Every product in every industry is vulnerable to counterfeiting and piracy," says Bruce Josten, Chamber executive vice president of Government Affairs. "We can no longer accept these crimes as just another cost of doing business."

 

The Chamber and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have launched a tour to educate small businesses about the threats of counterfeiting and piracy and to equip them with tools to protect themselves and their customers. The tour stops in Detroit, Raleigh, San Antonio, and Seattle, among other cities.

 

Separately, in June at a press conference on Capitol Hill, the Chamber and the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) unveiled the CACP Campaign to Protect America. This ambitious campaign outlines six key goals: greater resources for the Homeland Security and Justice departments, more stringent border security, tougher penalties, better federal government coordination, reform of civil and judicial processes, and increased consumer education. In the coming months, CACP member companies and associations will brief key congressional leaders and committees to advance these goals.

 

It is estimated that counterfeiting and piracy cost the U.S. economy up to $250 billion per year in lost sales and have resulted in the loss of 750,000 jobs.

 

Go to www.thetruecosts.org/ and www.thecacp.com/ to learn more.