SPEECHES AND REMARKS 2006
As Prepared for Delivery
Remarks by Jon W. Dudas Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Symposium on "India R&D 2006 - Mind to Market" Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, India, December 6, 2006
As prepared
Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to co-chair this panel along with Secretary Dua on the topic of the "Strategic Use of Intellectual Property as a Wealth Generator."
I. Shared Recognition of Importance of IPR
Clearly, intellectual property is an area of great interest for both India and the United States today. Intellectual property rights (IPR) contribute to economic development and wealth generation in several direct and indirect ways that are widely recognized. Strong IPR:
1) Facilitates technology transfer and foreign direct investment,
2) Encourages R&D at universities and research centers,
3) Spurs new technologies and businesses, and
4) Facilitates revenue generation from licensing, joint ventures, and other IP-based transactions.
Indeed, Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, published a study in 2003 entitled "Intellectual Property: A Power Tool for Economic Growth." The study examines how proactive IP policies have been successfully implemented in a wide variety of developing economies around the world. Against this backdrop, the level of cooperation between India and the United States on IPR is unprecedented and continues to grow. We are seeing cooperation within the highest offices of our governments and within our agencies.
Understanding the value of intellectual property, U.S. President George Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a joint statement agreeing that, "the United States and India would work together to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement by providing a vibrant intellectual property rights regime, and to cooperate in the field of intellectual property rights to include capacity building activities, human resources development and public awareness programs." Our leaders are talking about protecting IP because we all recognize it is important to our countries' economies and to our future.
II. American View of IPR/Lessons Learned
With the background of strong IP as a "power tool" for wealth generation, I will talk about some of the lessons we have learned in the U.S. from protecting IP and encouraging economic growth for more than 200 years, and I will mention the steps we are taking now - and in the future - to strengthen intellectual property rights further.
IP has been a driving force in America's development since our country was founded. As many of you know, Article I, section 8, clause 8 of our Constitution grants Congress the power "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." Since our country's beginnings, we have seen firsthand the value of strong IPR. Protecting individual's products and services has promoted and encouraged innovation and progress in America.
And IP protection still helps us grow today. In fact, a recent World Bank Study found that an increase of 20 percent in the annual number of United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patents granted is associated with an increase of 3.8 percent in annual economic growth for the United States.
But it is important to note that approximately 45 percent of all the patents we grant are to citizens of other countries. So we don't just see the value of IPR from our American-based companies; we see value from the foreign investments we receive as a result of our IP protection and enforcement.
I am convinced that stronger IP protection will ensure sustained growth in investment in India; creating more good, knowledge-based jobs for Indian citizens and further strengthening the Indian economy. In the United States, we have learned the value of letting other countries compete and be protected in our marketplace. And they have helped spur economic growth in high-tech industries.
III. Importance of Free markets/Clear, Evolving IP Laws
As a result, one IP principle that has developed in America is: have strong IP laws, but let the markets determine their own directions and growth. Having good IP laws can certainly be a challenge - as technologies advance and market conditions change continually. But we strive to have clear IP laws, and then enforce them consistently - to create a certainty in our markets for foreign and domestic businesses. And then we let the markets, and free competition, thrive and spur themselves onto greater innovation and growth.
One of our most famous examples began in 1972, when the Indian inventor Anand Chakrabarty, a microbiologist, filed a patent application covering a new "man-made" bacteria able to break down crude oil. It could be used for treating oil spills. Because of our laws and policies at the time, our Patent Office refused to issue the patent, saying that genetically engineered microorganisms were not patentable. Ultimately, in 1980 after years of appeals within our USPTO and lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Diamond v. Chakrabarty, ruled that life forms could be patented. In its decision, the Supreme Court said that Chakrabarty's invention is "not nature's handiwork, but his own..."
After the Supreme Court's 1980 decision, the USPTO began issuing patents on microorganisms. And the latest survey of the Association of University Technology Managers - a group representing most of those responsible for commercializing university, hospital, and institutional research - shows that, in 2003 alone, the licensing of research from member institutions resulted in 400 new start-up companies and more than $1.3 billion in fees.
Much of this money comes from licensing biotechnology patents, and translates into a continuing stream of new investments in research of treatments for diseases - as well as thousands of new businesses creating tens of thousands of new jobs. And today, the USPTO has an entire section and more than 300 patent examiners dedicated to reviewing patent applications involving biotechnology.
There is no doubt that strong intellectual property protection and enforcement have helped the United States develop from an agricultural-based economy into knowledge-based nation.
IV. Communicate about IPR with Businesses
Another lesson we have been reminded of recently is the importance of communicating about IPR with our businesses of all sizes. We are studying other countries' initiatives to educate their industries on protecting and enforcing IPR domestically and internationally.
We have learned, for example, that Hong Kong, France, and Great Britain have very vigorous programs to educate their domestic businesses about IP. We are learning about new and better approaches to IP education that undoubtedly will influence our own work as we move forward.
So, last year, our Patent and Trademark Office launched a communications campaign to educate our small businesses about protecting their intellectual property in the United States and abroad. We offered small-business conferences across America to advise them. All conferences had strong attendance and very positive feedback.
Also last year, the Department of Commerce launched a STOP! website, www.stopfakes.gov, which features helpful information, including "intellectual property toolkits" to help businesses, in particular small businesses, protect their rights in other countries. Through these programs, we are helping our businesses better understand how to protect and enforce their rights around the world, as well as steps they can take in the United States to address counterfeit and pirated goods coming into our country.
V. Work with Trading Partners Worldwide
The final lesson we have learned that I'll mention is that we have to work with our trading partners to strengthen IP protection worldwide. The USPTO is doing our part to help other countries in modernizing and strengthening their intellectual property regimes because we believe it truly benefits the world's economies and citizens, as well as our own.
Building on the success of placing USPTO IP experts in Geneva and Beijing, we have recently expanded our IPR attaché program. We now have IPR experts stationed in embassies around the world, including here in India. These experts advocate for stronger IP policy and enforcement, conduct training, help American businesses, and support the embassies' IPR action plans. We have also established a Global Intellectual Property Academy to expand current IP training programs for foreign judges, enforcement officials, and administrators.
VI. Closing
In closing, we all realize that strong IP rights are important. But we know that having strong, fair, and current IP laws - and enforcing them consistently - are enormous challenges. We have to constantly evolve our laws and enforcement practices to keep up with changing needs and market conditions. And we have to keep our businesses and citizens informed about their roles in helping to protect IP.
And what's probably the most important - we have to work together with other countries to ensure fair and consistent protections - particularly among the world's largest economies.
I am hopeful that by continuing to work with India, other countries, our own industries, and respected international organizations, we will do even more to provide protection for all IP rights holders. We will do this because having a world that values and respects the rights of intellectual property holders will benefit our economies and ultimately, the lives of all our citizens.
Thank you.