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

1 1 (March 13, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govxxv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service S Infor ~i ig the legisi live debate sin 1914 0 Updated March 13, 2019 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. 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). 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? IP is considered important to U.S. economic growth and a comparative advantage internationally. A range of U.S. industry relies on IPR protection. A subset of the most IP-intensive industries were estimated to account for approximately 30% of U.S. direct employment and 52% of U.S. merchandise exports, and in 2012, about 12.3% of U.S. private services exports (2014 Department of Commerce data released in 2016). Yet, lawful limitations to IPR, such as fair use copyright exceptions for media, research, and teaching, may also add value. What is the extent of IPR infringement? IPR infringement is difficult to quantify, 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 a 2012 International Trade Commission survey, about 10% of digitally intensive U.S. firms reported experiencing at least one cyber incident harming their network data systems' confidentiality, integrity, or availability. In FY2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported seizing $1.2 billion of IPR-infringing goods at U.S. borders, with China the largest source. Trade Policy Tools for IPR How are IPR and international trade related? Goods and services traded are increasingly IPR-related. Developed countries traditionally have been the source of IP (see Figure 1), but emerging markets also are becoming innovation centers. The use of trade policy to advance IPR internationally emerged with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) 1995 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). These agreements build on IPR treaties, dating to the 1800s, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 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 What is the WTO TRIPS Agreement? The TRIPS Agreement sets minimum standards of protection and enforcement for IPR. It includes provisions on: * WTO nondiscrimination principles; * application of the WTO's binding dispute settlement mechanism for IPR disputes; * a balance of rights and obligations between protecting private right holders and securing broader public benefits; and * flexibilities for developing countries in implementation and for pharmaceutical patent obligations-extended in November 2015 for least developed countries (LDCs) until January 2033 or until they are no longer LDCs, whichever is earlier. The 2001 WTO Doha Declaration committed members to interpret TRIPS to support public health and access to medicines.

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