WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Obama administration has unveiled their new inter-agency intellectual (IP) property rights protection plan, which is designed to protect everything from prescription pharmaceuticals to digital music and movies.
The 33-part plan was announced by Vice President Joe Biden, along with a number of senior administration officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Victoria Espinel who was tapped last year to serve as the first Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.
A report prepared by Espinel on IP piracy claimed that the U.S. economy loses 20.5 billion annually in lost revenue. U.S. workers also lose out on 5.5 billion in earnings and more than 140,000 additional jobs are not created every year as a result of IP theft.
"To state it very bluntly, piracy hurts," Vice President Joe Biden said during the White House press conference.
The 33 part plan includes a sweeping reorganization of the Justice Department as the government tries to bring greater inter-agency efficiency to bear on the problem. The plan also includes provisions that will see the Federal government actively pursuing foreign websites that offer access to pirated movies and music.
"We obviously want this strategy to be one of the things that the administration is doing to increase our exports, by making sure that our export markets are as viable as possible," Victoria Espinel, who prepared the strategy, told the Wall Street Journal. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
