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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 314 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 314

Supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 17, 2007

Mr. Wexler (for himself, Mr. Feeney, Mr. Berman, Mr. Coble, Mr. Schiff, 
Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mrs. Bono, 
Ms. Watson, and Mr. Issa) submitted the following resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day, and for other 
                               purposes.

Whereas intellectual property is the backbone of the Nation's economic 
        competitiveness and the only sector where the United States has a trade 
        surplus with every nation in the world;
Whereas well over 50 percent of United States exports now depend on some form of 
        intellectual property, compared to less than 10 percent 50 years ago;
Whereas intangible assets that stem from intellectual property--such as high-
        value services, global branding, technological know-how, and scientific 
        research--must be recognized as cornerstones in achieving continued 
        economic growth and cultural development in a 21st century world;
Whereas intellectual property assets today represent more than one third of the 
        value of United States-based corporations and more than 17 percent of 
        the gross domestic product of the United States;
Whereas intellectual property plays a significant role in an increasingly broad 
        range of services, ranging from the Internet to health care to nearly 
        all aspects of science and technology and literature and the arts, and 
        the Nation's potential for innovation and invention must be fostered as 
        its greatest attribute;
Whereas the United States and all countries share the challenge of combating 
        piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property, including illicit 
        trade in life-saving drugs, cutting edge technologies, film, music, 
        books, and inventions that affect the quality of life every day;
Whereas such piracy and counterfeiting have a deep impact on economies around 
        the world, translate into lost jobs, lost earnings, and lost tax 
        revenues, and threaten public health and safety;
Whereas counterfeit drugs account for 10 percent of all pharmaceuticals and as 
        much as 60 percent in developing countries; counterfeiting costs the 
        automotive parts industry $12,000,000,000 annually; for every two 
        dollars' worth of software obtained legally, one dollar's worth is 
        obtained illegally; and it is estimated that counterfeiting accounts for 
        5 to 7 percent of world trade;
Whereas motion picture piracy now results in lost revenue among all United 
        States industries of $20,500,000,000 annually; the recording industry 
        loses about $4,200,000,000 annually to piracy worldwide; it is estimated 
        that American publishers lost over $580,000,000 in 2006 due to copyright 
        piracy; and global piracy is estimated to have cost the United States 
        entertainment software industry more than $3,000,000,000 in 2004, not 
        including losses attributable to Internet piracy;
Whereas the World Intellectual Property Organization, with its 184 member 
        states, is the primary organization in the world focused on the 
        development and protection of intellectual property rights for all 
        creators and all countries;
Whereas World Intellectual Property Day provides an opportunity to reflect on 
        how intellectual property touches all aspects of people's lives--how 
        copyright helps music to be heard and art, films, and literature to be 
        seen, how industrial design helps shape the world in which people live, 
        how trademarks provide reliable signs of quality, and how patenting 
        helps promote ingenious inventions that make life easier, faster, safer, 
        and sometimes completely changes the way people live;
Whereas the theme of 2007 World Intellectual Property Day is ``Encouraging 
        Creativity,'' and presents an opportunity to encourage young people in 
        the United States to recognize the creator, the problem-solver, and the 
        artist within to produce the entrepreneurs, the scientists, the 
        designers, and the artists of tomorrow;
Whereas April 26, 1970, was the date on which the Convention establishing the 
        World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force;
Whereas in 2000, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization 
        established World Intellectual Property Day to celebrate the 
        contribution made by innovators and artists to the development and 
        growth of societies across the globe and to highlight the importance and 
        practical use of intellectual property in everyone's daily lives; and
Whereas April 26, 2007, has been designated as World Intellectual Property Day, 
        a time to celebrate the importance of intellectual property to the 
        United States and the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals of World Intellectual Property Day 
        to promote, inform, and teach the importance of intellectual 
        property as a tool for economic, social, and cultural 
        development;
            (2) recognizes the ever-increasing importance of 
        intellectual property and the new challenges and serious 
        threats to its protection, which affect prospects for future 
        growth of the United States economy;
            (3) supports robust and ongoing efforts to protect the 
        health and well-being of citizens in the United States from 
        fraudulent and illegal counterfeiting and piracy, such as those 
        led by the National Intellectual Property Coordination Council 
        and the Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy;
            (4) congratulates the World Intellectual Property 
        Organization for building awareness of the value of 
        intellectual property and developing the necessary 
        infrastructure to help citizens take full advantage of their 
        own creativity; and
            (5) applauds the ongoing contributions of human creativity 
        and intellectual property to growth and innovation and for the 
        key role they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter and 
        stronger future for the Nation and the world.
                                 <all>
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