IV 

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 recVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:13 Apr 19, 2007 Jkt 030505 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR314.IH HR314

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ognized 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 


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$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 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the goals of World Intellectual 

3 Property Day to promote, inform, and teach the im4 portance of intellectual property as a tool for eco5 nomic, social, and cultural development; 

6 (2) recognizes the ever-increasing importance of 

7 intellectual property and the new challenges and se8 rious threats to its protection, which affect prospects 

9 for future growth of the United States economy; 

10 (3) supports robust and ongoing efforts to pro11 tect the health and well-being of citizens in the 

12 United States from fraudulent and illegal counter13 feiting and piracy, such as those led by the National 

14 Intellectual Property Coordination Council and the 

15 Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy; 

16 (4) congratulates the World Intellectual Prop17 erty Organization for building awareness of the 

18 value of intellectual property and developing the necVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:13 Apr 19, 2007 Jkt 030505 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR314.IH HR314

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1 essary infrastructure to help citizens take full advan2 tage of their own creativity; and 

3 (5) applauds the ongoing contributions of 

4 human creativity and intellectual property to growth 

5 and innovation and for the key role they play in pro6 moting and ensuring a brighter and stronger future 

7 for the Nation and the world. 

Æ 


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