The Importance of Intellectual Property Protection in International Trade

Intellectual property protection is crucial in fostering international trade.Businesses of all nations now operate in an increasingly competitive worldwide marketplace.Strong domestic and international protection of patents and trademarks is vital to the success of U.S. business in that marketplace.In the past, the United States' greatest competitive advantages were the ideas that led to its industrial and technological progress.Today, the United States needs to encourage and protect those ideas in the international marketplace.International trade is a major factor in the health and stability of our economy.Total trade in goods and services now stands at twenty-two percent of the Gross National Product.I One out of every eight U.S. manufacturing jobs is related to exports. 2 Each billion dollars in exports supports some 25,000 jobs.3 Even considering inflation, the volume of U.S. exports and imports has more than doubled since 1967, up to more than $680 billion in 1982.4The international character of U.S. business development is clearly illustrated in the aerospace industry, which for years has added to the plus side of our trade balance."The civil aircraft sector of the aerospace industry alone generates six percent of all U.S. manufactured exports.6 But the days of guaranteed U.S. market domination in civil aircraft are over.The increased costs and risks of developing new technology may be too great for anyone country to bear alone.For example, a consortium of companies in the United States, England, Japan, West Germany, and Italy has announced plans to develop a new jet engine to power a new class of commercial short range jet aircraft.7 Competition in international trade has increased dramatically over the past decade and a half.For one hundred years -1870 to 1970 -the United States• Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.