Letter commending the introduction of S. 3325, the “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008"

 

September 10, 2008

The Honorable Patrick Leahy

Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

 

The Honorable Arlen Specter
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Specter:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, commends you for introducing S. 3325, the “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008,” and scheduling a markup on September 11th.

As the Chamber’s July 30th letter to the Committee noted, protecting intellectual property (IP) is critical to America’s future competitiveness and economic security. Counterfeiting and piracy of IP costs U.S. businesses nearly $250 billion in revenue each year, and an estimated 750,000 American jobs have already been lost due to these growing problems. Additionally, many counterfeit products pose severe health and safety risks to American consumers.

The Chamber supports S. 3325 as well as the changes included in the bipartisan manager’s amendment. This legislation will improve coordination among government agencies responsible for IP enforcement and provide additional resources and legal tools necessary to combat counterfeiting and piracy.

The Chamber opposes any amendments that would weaken the provisions aimed at improving interagency coordination or diminish the resources dedicated to IP enforcement Testimony before Congress and studies by the Government Accountability Office have repeatedly highlighted the need to significantly improve interagency coordination and to focus additional resources on IP enforcement.

The Chamber appreciates your leadership on S. 3325 and urges you to pass effective IP
enforcement legislation before the end of the 110th Congress.

Sincerely,

R. Bruce Josten

Cc: Members of the Committee on the Judiciary