New Report Refutes Nine Key Claims Justifying Progressives’ Assault on IP Rights in U.S. Policies and Trade Agreements

WASHINGTON—In the face of mounting criticism of intellectual property (IP) rights and protections from progressive policymakers and advocacy groups, a comprehensive report released today by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, examines and rebuts nine key claims that critics often use to justify weakening IP.

ITIF’s analysis finds the anti-IP claims to be deeply flawed and concludes that the U.S. government should reverse its recent pattern of undercutting IP rights and protections in domestic policy and international trade agreements by reasserting itself as a global IP champion to bolster U.S. competitiveness, job creation, and innovation.

“Progressives have launched an assault on IP rights in U.S. domestic policy, international forums, and trade agreements. If the administration and Congress are concerned about U.S. competitiveness, they need to push back,” said Stephen Ezell, vice president of global innovation policy at ITIF, and author of the report. “For decades, the United States was the leading advocate for a global trading system that respected and enforced IP rights because the U.S. economy and millions of jobs depended on it and because policymakers understood how important IP is to global advancement. Unfortunately, many U.S. policymakers are now walking away from that critical role, all too often arguing for weaker, not stronger, IP rights and enforcement. It’s time for the U.S. government to reassert itself as a global champion for IP.”

Recent examples of the progressive attack on IP rights and protections have included efforts in the U.S. Congress to seize IP created with federal funding in university labs in the hope of cutting drug prices and calls by leading progressive lawmakers to squelch IP protections in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

But as ITIF’s new report details, without IP protection, innovators’ revenues decline, leading entrepreneurs to reduce their investments in new research, product development, and content creation because there is a greater risk they won’t be able to recoup their capital costs. Proposed “alternatives” to IP, such as patronage and reward systems, cannot adequately sustain America’s IP-intensive industries and the more than 45 million workers they employ.

The report examines nine claims from the anti-IP progressive left and rebuts them:

• Information should be free.
• IP doesn’t help small businesses.
• IP harms consumers.
• IP does not benefit the U.S. economy.
• Weak IP overseas helps the U.S. economy.
• IP harms developing nations.
• IP makes it harder for developing countries to acquire technology.
• IP limits innovation in developing nations.
• Requiring IP in trade agreements is wrong.

The report also recommends that policymakers re-engage internationally and improve IP rights domestically.

1. Internationally, the United States should oppose IP waiver proposals, unite against China’s IP theft, engage in trade agreements and include IP provisions, and lead discussions on IP protection for emerging technologies.
2. Domestically, U.S. policymakers should enforce website blocking to stop the access of pirated materials, adopt royalty rights for artists or sound recording owners, increase education and engagement surrounding IP rights, and limit attempts to reduce drug prices by misusing IP policy.

“It’s not too late for U.S. policymakers to reverse course and once again assert a leadership role in advancing international IP best practices,” said Ezell. “Working with like-minded allies offers U.S. policymakers the chance to set a precedent for emerging technologies and establish a united front against China, and by reforming certain domestic IP policies, America can lead by example, resulting in a more competitive American economy, more innovation, and more jobs in IP-dependent industries.”

Read the report.