The National Governors Association (NGA) today sent a letter to Congress supporting legislation that would combat rogue websites and protect US intellectual property. In the letter, Governors Sam Brownback and Jeremiah Nixon (Chair and Vice Chair of the NGA Economic Development and Commerce Committee) write: “On behalf of the nation’s governors, we urge Congress to [...]

Top Administration officials today announced a new public education campaign created in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) about intellectual property theft and its victims. Attorney General Eric Holder said, “As our country continues to recover from once-in-a-generation economic challenges, the need to safeguard intellectual property rights – and to protect Americans from intellectual [...]

The American Consumer Institute today announced the results of a survey illustrating that a vast majority of American consumers support stronger protection against websites trafficking pirated and counterfeit goods. The survey of 800 consumers found that 82 percent agreed that counterfeit goods, such as knock-off products, pirated software and imitation pharmaceuticals hurt the economy. Consumers [...]

Several media outlets are documenting the growing problem of infringement of games and other apps developed by individuals and small companies for smart phones and tablet computers. These apps are easily and cheaply available online. Looking at the Top Ten most popular apps at the Apple store in recent days, most all are games, and [...]

Today I participated in a day-long advocacy effort on Capitol Hill in support of efforts to fight online theft. The event was sponsored by the Global intellectual Property Center of the US Chamber of Commerce, and its Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy.  The event was remarkable in multiple respects. First, it brought together a diverse [...]

The Computer and Communications Industry Association this week issued a white paper attempting to assign economic value to the fair use defense against copyright infringement by presenting combined data of industries that “depend on fair use and other limitations upon the regulatory reach of copyright laws”. The paper is interesting spin. Most of the jobs [...]

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today released its annual “Special 301” report, identifying countries that fall short in intellectual property rights enforcement and market access for American IP products. The report summarizes some good news from the past year – finalizing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, passage of four pieces of intellectual property rights [...]

A study released today by Georgia Music Partners finds that the music industry in Georgia contributes nearly 20,000 jobs and $3.7 billion in economic activity in the state, according to a press release on Music Industry News Network. A complete copy of the study can be viewed here. Learn more about the creative community in [...]

The High Court in the UK today dismissed a case brought by Internet service providers arguing that they should not be held responsible for their share of costs for an education campaign to inform illegal file uploaders that their activities are illegal, and to redirect them to legitimate digital distribution sites. In a particularly well-worded statement, [...]

In a week when Congress and the Administration are negotiating to keep the government open, a news conference today concerning online theft demonstrated that there are core issues to the economy – such as the importance of American intellectual property as a growth engine and generator of economic prosperity and jobs that can still unite [...]