On Tuesday, the White House released its new 2010 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement (see also the White House blog and the write up in Intellectual Property Watch). The document seeks to lay out a clear message on piracy while sidestepping some of the controversies -- for example with this statement on fair use: "Strong intellectual property enforcement efforts should be focused on stopping those stealing the work of others, not those who are appropriately building upon it."
I applaud the coordinated approach to enforcement. But I would also note that balance is necessary. The following is the recommendation from our December 2008 report Crafting an Obama Innovation Policy:
Strengthening the White House role in reviewing and balancing intellectual property policy as broadly defined. The merits of infinitely expanding and strengthening intellectual property protection--patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets--to accelerate innovation and promote investment are no longer the articles of faith they were for a generation beginning in 1980. Witness the pending patent reform legislation--most of the provisions of which command broad private sector support--and recent Supreme Court and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decisions in patent cases involving injunctions, patentable subject matter, obviousness, and willful infringement. But there has been no White House leadership on these issues, contributing to a congressional stalemate on patent reform. Moreover, within the Executive Office of the President there is a growing need for balancing the views of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), which has consistently favored ratcheting up intellectual property protection and enforcement--a stance likely to be reinforced by the new Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.
Balance is key -- since IP is only one part of the broader intangible-asset base that drives economic prosperity. Thus, what we need is not just an IP enforcement policy -- but an innovation and competitiveness policy based on intellectual capital and intangible asset.
So if the Administration can produce a joint IP strategy - why can't it produce a joint innovation strategy? Looking at the IP enforcement strategy, there are a number of like actions that could easily be taken with respect to intangibles. For example, one action in the strategy is to assess U.S. Government resources spent on IP enforcement "through a Budget Data Request (BDR), whereby agencies reported the amount of resources they dedicated to human capital and programs, identified metrics used in measuring intellectual property enforcement successes, and planned and estimated expenditures for future years." Why can't we do the same thing for our investments in intangibles?
Another action item in the report is to assess the economic impact of IP-intensive industries. Why not expand that to the impact of intangible-asset investments?
IP enforcement is good. But IP enforcement is one narrow silo of the innovation process. If we are to promote economic prosperity in the I-Cubed Economy we need to be tearing down silos. The IP enforcement strategy shows how actions can be coordinated across government agencies. Let's now do the same for innovation.
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