Intellectual Property Role in the U.S. Economy

The Department of Commerce has released a new report titled "Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus," which sets out the pivotal role that intellectual property plays in the U.S. economy.

According to the report, IP related jobs are at the top of the list for newly created jobs and IP-intensive jobs are said to pay at least 42% higher in wages than other popular job sectors at this time. The Department of Commerce Secretary John Bryson stated, "It's clear that intellectual property protection is more critical than ever" and "When Americans know their ideas will be protected, they have greater incentive to pursue advances in technologies. That helps keep us competitive and makes us competitive into the future." According to the Commerce Secretary, "industries affected by intellectual property account for more than 40 million jobs, 61% of exports and more than $775 billion in goods and services."

Most companies want to protect their intellectual property rights whether it is through a patent, copyright, or trademark. A company's intellectual property portfolio is a vital asset to its growth. Therefore, jobs in IP related fields are widely expanding. According to the Economics and Statistics Administration and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in 2010 the 75 IP-intensive related industries produced approximately 35 percent of the gross domestic product in the U.S. or about $5.06 trillion.

The report released from the Department of Commerce, which emphasizes the importance of intellectual property protection, comes just one year after the US International Trade Commission disclosed in a similar report that the lack of monitoring and enforcing of IP rights in China cost U.S. IP-intensive companies $50 billion a year. The report made by the Trade Commission also reports that the lack of worldwide IP protection might also jeopardize up to 2.1 million jobs.

Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated, "In laboratories and studios and research hubs, and even in home garages, entrepreneurs and innovators are hard at work turning their ideas into real products," and "innovation can't create jobs without strong IP protection."

According to the Department of Commerce report, IP jobs in the U.S. are mainly clustered on the West and East Coasts.

_{Source of News}: http://www.californiapatentattorney.pro/2012/04/patents-trademarks-and-copyrights-play-a-pivotal-role-in-the-us-economy.html