Bush Appoints new Coordinator of International Intellectual Property Enforcement

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez has hailed President Bush's creation of a senior position to help combat intellectual property violations. The President has tapped Chris Israel, currently Deputy Chief of Staff for Gutierrez, as the new Coordinator of International Intellectual Property Enforcement.

'Intellectual property theft costs U.S. businesses billions of dollars and weakens our economy', Gutierrez said. 'American ingenuity and innovation are driving forces in our economy and we need to protect our ideas, both at home and abroad. This new position will help us to be more aggressive and also help us to better coordinate our fight against intellectual property pirates'.

As the Coordinator for International Intellectual Property Enforcement Israel will work with agencies across the Administration to develop policies to address international intellectual property violations and enforce intellectual property laws overseas. In this role, he will head the international work of the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council (Niplecc) and coordinate and supervise international intellectual property protection plans among other agencies. Israel will accordingly play a significant role in the implementation of the Bush Administration's Stop Initiative.

Nearly 7 percent of the goods in the global marketplace are counterfeit. According to USTR's 2005 Special 301 Report, in China alone, ninety percent of the music and movies sold are pirated. The Bush administration has worked aggressively to combat intellectual property theft through enhanced enforcement and prosecution for intellectual property crimes and also through state of the art intellectual property protections in trade agreements.

(Source: Vision Council of America)