IP-intensive Industries Created 40 Million Jobs in 2010, Says Commerce Report
Business and labor groups joined Obama administration officials in stressing the need for enforcing intellectual property rights as a Department of Commerce report showed that IP-intensive industries supported at least 40 million jobs and contributed more than $5 trillion to the economy in 2010, accounting for 34.8 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. “When Americans know that their ideas will be protected, they have greater incentive to pursue advances and technologies that help keep us competitive, and our businesses have the confidence they need to hire more workers,” said Commerce Secretary John Bryson.
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The report, released at a White House event Wednesday, showed that 75 industries that use patent, copyright or trademark protections “most intensively” were the direct or indirect source of 40 million jobs in 2010. Ranking high among IP-intensive industries are those making computer and computer peripheral gear, audio and video equipment, newspaper and book publishers, makers of semiconductor and other electronic components, and pharmaceutical and medicines. IP protections are also central to exports, “another key driver of our economy,” said Bryson. IP-intensive industries supported more than $775 billion in U.S. goods exports in 2010, about 61 percent of all merchandise exports, he said.
As part of efforts to ensure “our intellectual property system is strong and sound,” his department is modernizing and streamlining its patent review process, “so that businesses can get their ideas to market faster,” Bryson said. Besides hiring more experts to reduce patent backlogs, “we're doing more than ever to target counterfeiting and piracy both here and abroad,” he said. The department this year is also developing a “long-term IP strategy” to ensure that “our patent system continues to serve [as] the world’s gold standard in IP.”
The study on IP and the U.S. economy, done jointly by the Economics and Statistics Administration and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, does not offer policy recommendations and “is not intended to directly advance particular policy issues.” The most IP-intensive states in the country are California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire, Commerce Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank told the meeting.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is “pleased” that the Obama administration has taken “important steps” to address IP rights, said President Thomas Donohue. The report “fundamentally proves” that “40 million jobs also hinge on the proper and adequate enforcement of IP rights, that are frequently threatened by criminal organizations overseas,” he said. “It’s a challenge we must tackle together.” U.S. protection for American IP “simply does not effectively address foreign rogue websites that steal movies, TV shows and music,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “The need to address foreign rogue websites remains urgent as they continue to profit at the expense of U.S. jobs and income."
Meanwhile, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel said she would take steps to encourage the “expansion of voluntary best practices” for online advertising with the aim of cutting off “revenue to websites distributing counterfeit and pirated goods.” In a letter to President Barack Obama and Congress, she said she would also work with Congress to make sure that federal agencies have the “necessary enforcement tools” they need to effectively combat intellectual property theft. “We are [also] focused on increasing international cooperation and enhancing capacity building through training, deployment of U.S. personnel overseas and diplomatic engagement with foreign nations.”