Innovation Can Help Solve American Challenges

Americans have always tackled pressing challenges with new ideas. In fact, plain oldfashioned know-how is essential for getting our economy back on track and solving problems in health care, energy, and the environment. That's why the U.S. Chamber makes innovation and the protection of intellectual property (IP) a top priority. We have created an organization--the Global Intellectual Property Center--to ensure that innovation remains a hallmark of our free enterprise system and that our most creative minds are properly rewarded for their ideas.

Consider IP's and innovation's overall contributions to the economy. IP-dependent industries account for more than $5 trillion of U.S. GDP and represent 40% of economic growth in recent years. Equally important are the 18 million good-paying jobs that IP-intensive industries provide. To put the unemployed back to work and to keep pace with a growing population, America must create 20 million jobs over the next 10 years. Many of these jobs will result from entrepreneurs turning ideas into real products and services.

The importance of IP doesn't end with economic recovery--it is also essential for improving health care. Strong IP rights drive the pharmaceutical innovations that generate breakthrough cures, encourage the development of new medical devices, and are essential to protect the integrity of health IT and patient privacy. Americans won't benefit from the medical breakthroughs and the lifesaving drugs they've come to expect if researchers and manufacturers think that their products are going to be ripped off by counterfeiters or foreign governments.

The same principle holds true for the twin challenges of energy and climate change. Responding to the growing demand for energy, while also limiting greenhousegas emissions, will require tremendous ingenuity. This presents an opportunity for our scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to develop new industries and good-paying American jobs. But that won't happen unless we vigorously defend IP rights during the negotiation of an international climate change treaty. If we let foreign countries steal our IP, we could forfeit 1 million green jobs by 2020.

Of course, the creative industries--such as movies, books, and recordings--also depend on IP protections. We must ensure that artists, authors, and musicians are able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, not have it stolen away as bootleg copies or over the Internet.

In a century where national success will be determined by the best ideas, elected officials must recognize innovation and creativity as essential components of a strong and vibrant economy. The Chamber will do everything in its power to make certain that they do.