IV
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 240
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to intellectual property
protection.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 18, 1994
Mr. GEJDENSON (for himself and Mr. ROTH) submitted the following concur-
rent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to
intellectual property protection.
Whereas industries that are dependent on the protection of
intellectual property rights, such as pharmaceutical,
audiovisual, and software companies, are major contribu-
tors to the growth of the United States economy;
Whereas these industries will need strong intellectual prop-
erty protection if they are to continue to grow, to create
skilled and high paying jobs in the United States, and to
expand into new markets worldwide;
Whereas United States copyright-based companies estimate
their losses due to piracy at $15,000,000,000 to
$17,000,000,000 per year, and the pharmaceutical indus-
try estimates its losses due to piracy at $5,000,000,000
per year;
•HCON 240 IH
Whereas the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellec-
tual Property Rights (the ‘‘TRIPS Agreement’’) con-
cluded in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade nego-
tiations under the auspices of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade provides for the first time an inter-
national standard accepted by more than 100 countries
for the effective protection and enforcement of intellec-
tual property rights;
Whereas the TRIPS Agreement, on balance, contains high
standards for protection and enforcement of patents,
copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, industrial designs,
and semiconductor designs, provides for a multilateral
dispute resolution mechanism, and limits many excep-
tions and derogations, such as compulsory licenses, from
the standards of protection;
Whereas the TRIPS Agreement contains certain deficiencies
in intellectual property protection because of the need to
bridge differences among the more than 100 participants
in the Uruguay Round negotiations;
Whereas newly industrializing countries, which already com-
pete very effectively with the United States among a
broad range of technologically-advanced products, may
not be required to provide the level of intellectual prop-
erty protection contained in the TRIPS Agreement until
July 1, 2000, generally and, in the case of pharma-
ceutical and agrichemical products, until July 1, 2005;
Whereas these and other deficiencies in the TRIPS Agree-
ment will delay the realization, by United States indus-
tries that are dependent on the protection of intellectual
property rights, of any commercial benefits from the
TRIPS Agreement in many of the major foreign markets
of the United States;
•HCON 240 IH
(3) the level of intellectual property protection
should be a determinant of eligibility for participa-
tion in all future free trade agreements, and the pro-
visions of law relating to existing preferential pro-
grams, such as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, the
Generalized System of Preferences, and the Andean
Trade Preferences, should be strengthened to en-
courage accelerated implementation of the TRIPS
Agreement; and
(4) the authorities in statutes other than trade
laws should be clarified to ensure that these authori-
ties may be used in support of strong intellectual
property protection abroad.
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