Former USPTO Directors Launch Bipartisan Advocacy Organization Dedicated to Promoting and Defending U.S. Innovation

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Sep 22, 2022, 08:44 ET

New entity to mobilize policymakers and stakeholders across the political spectrum as threats to American intellectual property increase at alarming rates

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Council for Innovation Promotion, a new coalition that will advocate for the preservation of U.S. intellectual property, formally launched.

"Our Founding Fathers enshrined intellectual property rights in the U.S. Constitution for good reason," said Andrei Iancu, co-chair of C4IP's board of directors and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under President Trump. "Respect for IP rights has made the United States the most innovative country in history. Now, at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it's more important than ever to safeguard IP rights. They're key to ensuring that our nation dominates the 21st century."

C4IP's leadership team is a who's who of IP officials from both Democratic and Republican administrations as well as the federal judiciary. David Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director under President Obama, will serve with Iancu as a board co-chair. The board also includes Paul Michel and Kathleen O'Malley, both retired judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2004 until his retirement in 2010, Michel served as Chief Judge of this court.

Frank Cullen, former vice president of U.S. policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Global Innovation Policy Center, will lead C4IP as executive director.

The U.S. IP system is facing mounting threats from domestic and international actors. C4IP will fend off those assaults through an ambitious campaign to educate policymakers and the public about the importance of IP rights.

"IP-intensive industries directly employ one-third of all U.S. workers and account for almost 50% of our country's economic output," Kappos said. "When intellectual property is properly valued and safeguarded, American workers reap the benefits."

"Modern society wouldn't be possible without IP rights," Cullen said. "We look forward to educating Americans about how IP rights have brought them everything from the pills in their medicine cabinets and the cars in their driveways to the TV shows streaming on their laptops and the smartphones in their pockets."

About the Council for Innovation Promotion: The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.

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SOURCE Council for Innovation Promotion