Speeches & Op-Eds
Protecting Intellectual Property Is Everyone's Problem
Op-Ed by Dr. D. Brent Hardt
Chargé d'Affaires, a.i., Embassy of the United States of America
April 26, 2007
Today is world intellectual property day. When intellectual property rights protections fail, the results can be deadly. During a meningitis epidemic in Niger in 1995, more than 50,000 people were inoculated with fake vaccines, resulting in 2,500 deaths. Thirty infants died in India in 1998 and 89 Haitian children died in 1995 from cough syrup prepared with a toxic chemical used in antifreeze. The 1989 crash of a Norwegian aircraft was blamed on a fake bolt in its assembly; fifty-five people died.
“Intellectual property rights” at its core is about product accountability and the protection of human creativity. It encompasses the legal mechanisms – copyrights, patents and trademarks – that ensure that the products we buy are genuine, and that someone else doesn’t take credit for our ideas. Intellectual property rights don’t just protect inventors; they protect everyone whose safety depends on product reliability in every country in the world, including The Bahamas.
Copyright laws encourage the creation of literary works, computer programs, artistic works, and expressions of national culture. Patent laws encourage the discovery of new and improved products and processes, while ensuring the freest possible public access to information regarding those new products and processes. Trademark laws encourage the development and maintenance of high-quality products and services, and help companies promote customer loyalty. Protection of intellectual property rights benefits everyone, including creative Bahamian artists.
Why should we care about protecting intellectual property? At the dawn of the 21st century, 70 percent of global economic output is generated by services, many of which depend on new and evolving technologies. Global GDP grew twenty-fold in the last century – from $2 trillion to $41 trillion and most of this increase was due to innovation. In 2004, the World Economic Forum reported that the twenty countries perceived as having the most stringent intellectual property protection were among the top twenty-seven countries in terms of economic growth competitiveness. In contrast, the twenty countries perceived as having the weakest intellectual property protection were among the bottom thirty-six countries. In short, intellectual property protection enhances the development of nations and businesses, contributes to productivity, and promotes artistic achievement while piracy erodes a country’s economy and its cultural identity.
In 2006, The Bahamas took positive steps forward in the enforcement of intellectual property by establishing a specific intellectual property unit within the Royal Bahamas Police Force. This unit conducted two raids of warehouses well known for selling pirated goods.
But there is still much more work to be done. Because protection of intellectual property is a global issue that directly impacts every nation, we have worked with the Government of The Bahamas to provide training for police and customs officers, and we will support intellectual property training for prosecutors.
Looking ahead, we hope that the Government of The Bahamas formed after upcoming elections will continue to send a clear message throughout the country that it intends to protect intellectual property rights and will not tolerate fake Gucci bags, phony medicines, pirated television signals, and illegal copies of videos and DVDS.
Information and communications technologies, safe medicines, and the other innovations that form the backbone of today’s economy are only possible because of intellectual property rights. The hopes we all have for a better future depend on those inventors and innovators who will make the world more bountiful and artists who will make it more beautiful – if their creative efforts and hard work are protected.