Digital Intellectual Property

Objective

Promote strong digital intellectual property protections for businesses.

Summary of the Issue

Exciting digital content is essential for broadband and digital television (DTV) to flourish.  Consumers want to download movies and music, access news articles and databases, and watch DTV. However, without adequate digital copyright protections, content producers will be hesitant to release their products digitally. Thus, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce vigorously advocates for the protection of digital intellectual property. Through membership education and by hosting forums with lawmakers, the U.S. Chamber has brought this issue to the forefront of its technology agenda and will aggressively promote this issue during the 109th Congress. Moreover, the U.S. Chamber supports full funding for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to ensure that it can implement necessary reforms aimed at promoting e-commerce.

The U.S. Chamber promotes market-based and technological solutions to digital intellectual property protection. These solutions should avoid costly government regulations and incorporate the fair use of content by citizens. Policies that balance copyright protection with fair use will spur broadband deployment by allowing for the development of enhanced Internet services.

Investment and innovation rest upon strong intellectual property protection for businesses. Accordingly, the U.S. Chamber opposes the ability of state entities, such as state universities, to use their constitutional protection from lawsuits to infringe freely upon the intellectual property of others. By using sovereign immunity in this manner, states collectively discourage the research and development of new Internet-based products and services. Thus, the U.S. Chamber supports a comprehensive federal policy that protects intellectual property from all types of infringement.

U.S. Chamber Strategy

• Fight for robust enforcement of intellectual property laws, domestically and abroad.
  
• Promote industry solutions to new copyright protection challenges.
  
• Support full funding for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  
• Lobby Congress for legislation to protect content owners from misappropriations by state entities.

Staff Contact Information

Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs Division
(202) 463-5533
environment@uschamber.com