Washington, DC - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today convened a hearing to examine the issue of international intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement, which falls under Finance Committee jurisdiction. Baucus called on industry leaders to discuss the widespread proliferation of piracy and counterfeiting operations overseas and how enforcement might be improved to address it.
J. Walter Cahill, International Vice President of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, described the staggering cost that piracy inflicts on the thousands of working men and women in the entertainment industry.
Baucus asked Andrew Lack, Chairman of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and Jeffrey Kindler,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer Inc., about what Congress could do to help increase international intellectual property enforcement. John Barton, professor emeritus at Stanford Law School, spoke to the negative consequences that strong IP enforcement may have on the world’s poorest countries.
“Protecting our intellectual property abroad means protecting American innovation and ultimately America’s economic prosperity. We must work together across industries and across borders to identify the biggest threats to our innovation. We must work together to find solutions to protect our innovation," Baucus said. “We also have a responsibility to understand how our laws affect access for the world’s poorest to the lifesaving medicines and other essential technologies they need to treat their sick, feed their poor, and clean their environment."
Senator Baucus was also interested in the panelists’ views on “Special 301," a section of the Trade Act of 1974 that requires the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to annually identify foreign countries that deny adequate IP protection. Panelists agreed that more should be done to resolve the underlying IP violations in the countries on the USTR watch list.
Source: Ranking Member’s News
