About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (January 22, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebot0001 and id is 1 raw text is: a Conre sio na Reeac Service 0 Updated January 22, 2021 Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and International Trade Background What is intellectual property (IP), and how is it protected? IP is a creation of the mind embodied in physical and digital objects. Intellectual property rights (IPR) are legal, private, enforceable rights that governments grant to inventors and artists. IPR generally provide time- limited monopolies to right holders to use, commercialize, and market their creations and to prevent others from doing the same without their permission (acts referred to as infringements). IPR are intended to encourage innovation and creative output. After these rights expire, other inventors, artists, and society at large can build on them. comparative advantage internationally. A range of U.S. industry relies on IPR protection. Yet, lawful limitations to IPR, such as fair use copyright exceptions for media, research, and teaching, can also add value. Many traded goods and services are IP-based, and the licensing and fees generated from the use of IP specifically form a component of services trade. Developed countries traditionally have been the source of IP, but emerging markets also are becoming major providers of IP. Globally, by country, the United States is the largest trader in IP charges for the use of IP, while the EU, as a bloc, is the largest (see Figure 1). Figure 1. IPR Trade for Selected Countries, 2019 Billions of U.S. Dollars EU $88 $130 U.S- $41 $26 Japan $4 2 A $25 $17 China $7 $34 What is the congressional interest? The congressional role in IPR and international trade stems from the U.S. Constitution. Congress has legislative, oversight, and appropriations responsibilities in addressing IPR and trade policy. Since 1988, Congress has included IPR as a principal trade negotiating objective in trade promotion authority (TPA), a time-limited authority that Congress uses to establish trade negotiating objectives and procedures to consider implementing legislation for trade agreements. To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries and To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations - U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, stipulating powers of Congress The context for congressional interest may include policy concerns such as: the role of IPR in the U.S. economy; the impact of IPR infringement on U.S. commercial, health, safety, and security interests; and the balance between protecting IPR to stimulate innovation and advancing other public policy goals. What is IP's role in the U.S. economy and trade? IP is considered important to U.S. economic growth and a Exports (Receipts) imports (Payments) Source: WTO, 2019 data in 2020 statistical review. Note: Charges for use of IP include proprietary rights and licenses. EU reflects extra-EU trade for current EU membership. Historically, the United States has been the top filer of patents under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system. In 2019, China (58,990 applications) overtook the United States (57,840) for the first time as the top filer (total global filings of 265,800), but analysts raise questions about the indicators of innovation and China's patent quality. What is the extent of IPR infringement? Quantifying IPR infringement is difficult, given its illicit nature, although some estimates of trade in counterfeit and pirated goods are in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year worldwide. Innovation can be costly and time-consuming, but IPR infringement often has relatively low risk and potentially high profit. The digital environment heightens such challenges. In FY2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported making 27,559 seizures of IPR- infringing goods at U.S. borders valued at $1.5 billion, with China the largest source. Trade Policy Tools for I PR How are IPR and international trade related? The use of trade policy to advance IPR internationally emerged with the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) 1995 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights https://crsreports.congress.gov

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most