(Washington, DC) - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4279, the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (PRO-IP) by a vote of 410-11. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) sponsored the bill and made the following remarks on the House floor earlier this week in support of the bill:
Today we move to dramatically step-up our nation’s intellectual property laws and enforcement efforts.
With so much bad economic news in the headlines, H.R. 4279 puts resources toward aiding a sector of the economy that employs an estimated 18 million workers – 13% of our labor force – and accounts for half of all US exports, driving 40% of the country's growth.
As a result of less than effective enforcement, however, counterfeiting and piracy costs the United States economy between 200 and 250 billion dollars every year, and results in the loss of 750,000 American jobs.
H.R. 4279 will do four important things:
First, it will prioritize intellectual property protection to the highest level of our government by creating an office in the White House that will be responsible for coordinating the IP efforts of eight diverse agencies and producing a national Joint Strategic Plan for IP enforcement.
Second, it will elevate IP enforcement within the Justice Department and provide more resources for investigating and prosecuting IP crimes.
Third, it will make changes to both civil and criminal IP laws to enhance the ability of intellectual property owners to effectively protect their rights.
And, it will increase penalties for IP violations that endanger public health and safety.
Throughout the process of developing this bill, we heard many expressions of support, as well as a number of expressions of concern. We have been able to work out these issues, on a bipartisan basis, at every step of the process.
As a result, H.R. 4279 is now supported by a number of key industries and associations, including the Consumer Electronics Association, the Digital Media Association, the Net Coalition, the Internet Commerce Coalition, the Coalition for Consumers’ Pictures Rights, and the Printing Industries of America.
This is in addition to support we already had from the Teamsters, the Directors Guild of America, SEIU, AFTRA, Unite Here, AFM, OPEIU, the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, the Motor Equipment Manufacturing Association, the Motion Picture Association of America, PHARMA, and NBC Universal.
Intellectual property protection is among the key issues that will determine America’s competitiveness in the 21st century. The ability to create, innovate, and generate the best artistic, technological, and knowledge-based intellectual property is the formula for continued growth in the global economy, and is fundamental to the promotion of human progress.
The Judiciary Committee has given this bill extensive consideration, resulting in legislation that makes important contributions to the fight against counterfeiting and piracy. This is an important bill, reported by voice vote with strong bipartisan statements of support, and I urge my colleagues to vote for its passage.
