Washington, DC - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
welcomed news today that the United States Trade Representative will launch negotiations for a new agreement to combat intellectual property counterfeiting and piracy abroad. The agreement Ambassador Susan Schwab hopes to strike would establish a common standard for intellectual property enforcement among nations committed to strong intellectual property protection. In a recent speech before the New Democrat Network, Senator Baucus called for negotiations on a new, even larger intellectual property agreement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would strengthen the current obligations under the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement.
“Intellectual property thieves aren’t just stealing American ideas, they’re stealing dollars from U.S. businesses and stealing jobs out from under U.S. workers. And the problem of intellectual property theft is rampant worldwide," Baucus said. “I have called for an intellectual property agreement in the World Trade Organization, and I hope today’s announcement of negotiations is a first step toward that goal. Ideas are America’s true currency, and if we want to be economically competitive, strong protections for U.S. intellectual property are key."
Baucus said today that he will work with Ambassador Schwab to expand protection and enforcement of U.S. intellectual property abroad through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and, eventually, though a new plurilateral WTO agreement.
Source: Ranking Member’s News
