Supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 1208.

I would like to thank Chairman Conyers as well as his staff for their support in bringing this resolution to the floor, and for the kind remarks from the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble). I also want to thank the other Chairs of the House Intellectual Property Caucus, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono Mack) and, again, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), who have joined me in sponsoring House Resolution 1208.

This important resolution commemorates World Intellectual Property Day, which was observed yesterday, April 26. Each year since 2001, World IP Day has been held in observance of the establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization by the United Nations. World Intellectual Property Day calls attention to the importance of IP for both our Nation and the international economy. It recognizes the contributions made by the countless artists, innovators, and other creative minds that enrich, assist, and inform us in many ways.

In and around my district in Washington State, I am able to observe daily the critically important role played by innovation and intellectual property to the economies of the South Sound region and the United States. As many of my colleagues are aware, Washington State is fortunate to boast a robust technological and innovative economy, with companies that range in size from major corporations to hundreds of smaller and medium-size businesses. Together, these industries directly and indirectly create hundreds of thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in economic activity. Each relies upon innovation and respect for intellectual property to remain successful and internationally competitive.

Similarly, in States and localities throughout America, artists, inventors, and employees in IP-intensive industries play a major role in supporting economic vitality. IP creates well-paying job opportunities for workers of multiple skill levels, drives research and development investment, creates new products and services that make our Nation more globally competitive, and drives American exports to foreign markets.

For intellectual property to work, it has to be protected; people have to know that they will get the value of their inventions and of their brain power. We must protect intellectual property to grow jobs here in the U.S. It is critical.

I am proud to recognize World Intellectual Property Day, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to recognize World Intellectual Property Day and the role that intellectual property plays in our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1208) supporting the goals of World Intellectual Property Day.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, House Resolution 1208 supports the goals of World Intellectual Property Day and recognizes the importance of protecting intellectual property. World Intellectual Property Day brings attention to the impact that intellectual property has in our daily lives, educates us on how intellectual property protection promotes creativity and innovation, and celebrates its contributions to society.

The theme for World Intellectual Property Day this year is, ``Innovation: Linking the World.'' The focus is to educate us on how innovation technologies have created an interlinked and global society.

Yesterday, we celebrated the 10th annual World Intellectual Property Day. This day was selected because on April 26, 1970, the United Nations established

the World Intellectual Property Organization, otherwise known as WIPO. WIPO works to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world, and yesterday was WIPO's 40th anniversary. This resolution congratulates the World Intellectual Property Organization for building awareness of the value of intellectual property. This resolution also celebrates the contributions of innovators throughout the world and reminds us of the importance of protecting intellectual property rights.

Protecting intellectual property rights is key to maintaining incentives for the development of innovative solutions to meet today's global challenges, and so we must continue to fight against piracy and counterfeiting of intellectual property. Piracy damages our national economy and the world economy. It results in lost jobs and stifles innovation.

I would like to thank Congressman Adam Smith for introducing this resolution. I would also like to acknowledge the strong bipartisan support of members of the Intellectual Property Caucus.

I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith), the author of the resolution before us.

(Mr. SMITH of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1208, which expresses support for World IP Day.

April 26, 2010 was the 10th annual World IP Day. This day was designated by the member nations of the World Intellectual Property Organization in order to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, and trademarks impact daily life, to raise understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation, to celebrate the contributions of creators and innovators to societies around the world, and to encourage respect for the IP rights of others.

When the Founders of our great Nation crafted the U.S. Constitution, they saw fit to include provisions to provide for the protection of intellectual property. They believed that if authors and inventors had the exclusive ability to use and reap a return on their creations for a limited time, then those artists and inventors would have the financial incentive to create new and exciting products that would benefit society and our economy. And it worked!

Today, America is the world leader in innovation and creativity precisely because of our Founders' foresight and our Nation's exceptionally strong intellectual property laws. Furthermore, the IP industries in America are a major driving force and job-creating engine of our economy.

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with a famous American author who told a story that hammered home how much the creative ideas of one man, if properly protected by intellectual property laws, can multiply into real jobs for real people. He wrote a best-selling novel. That novel then needed to be edited, reviewed, printed, marketed and distributed. The novel then became a movie, which needed to be produced, reviewed, distributed and shown in movie theatres, then in movie rental shops all across the country. The protected idea of one man helped to create all these jobs down the line. It is stories like this that need to be told on World IP Day.

In today's digital world, the Internet's fast connections can be used to download, upload and otherwise share illegal copies of songs, movies, games, and software at unprecedented levels. As we continue our journey into the digital age, it is even more important that we continue to jealously guard creators' intellectual property rights in order to foster new content, innovative products, and American jobs.

I thank my friend from Texas (Mr. Smith) for yielding.

Madam Speaker, intellectual property has been described as the cornerstone, or one of the cornerstones, of America's economic future; and I think that is an accurate description.

H. Res. 1208 supports the goals of World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on April 26 every year, which this year also happened to fall on the 40th anniversary of the World Intellectual Property Organization, commonly known as WIPO. WIPO has grown to 184 member states, and its new director general, Francis Gurry, issued a statement honoring World Intellectual Property Day, which pledged to ensure that the intellectual property system continues to serve its most fundamental purpose of encouraging innovation and creativity, and that the benefits of the system are accessible to all, helping to bring the world closer.

Robust and effective laws combined with effective enforcement are absolutely necessary to meet General Gurry's global ambitions. According to the Department of Commerce, intellectual property- intensive industries employ nearly 18 million workers, account for more than 50 percent of all U.S. exports, and represent 40 percent of the country's growth in the United States. USA for Innovation estimates that U.S. intellectual property is worth between $5 trillion and $5.5 trillion. The credit for this success belongs to our great innovators and for our robust intellectual property laws which have enabled innovation to flourish in America.

Expanding similar intellectual property protections throughout the world is, in my opinion, Madam Speaker, in everyone's best interest. In this regard, WIPO plays a very important role, and it is my hope that General Gurry will make every effort to help others realize the significance of intellectual property rights and work to help implement and enforce robust laws which ensure that intellectual property will flourish everywhere.

I urge support of H. Res. 1208.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he might consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and a former chairman of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, the purpose of House Resolution 1208 is to congratulate the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, for its work and to support the goals of World Intellectual Property Day. This day includes teaching the importance of intellectual property as a tool for economic, social, and cultural development.

WIPO is considered the most important international organization for the promotion of intellectual property. Among other responsibilities, WIPO administers treaties, such as the Berne and Paris Conventions, that protect intellectual property globally. The United States, of course, is a WIPO member.

Nine years ago, WIPO member states commemorated the founding of the organization by establishing World Intellectual Property Day. April 26, 1970 is the date on which the convention that created WIPO took effect. This resolution commemorates the achievements of WIPO and its designation of April 26, 2010 as World Intellectual Property Day for the current year. In addition, the resolution contains background information on the extent to which intellectual property generates jobs, sales, and exports for the United States, while contrasting these benefits with the problems related to piracy and anti-counterfeiting.

I support this resolution and I urge its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.