Policy - Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property refers to an invention from the human intellect that is protected for the creator’s use under the law as a patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret. In the Information Age, intellectual property is the foundation that ensures future innovations make the leap from the drawing board to the marketplace, where they can be used to improve our lives and tackle the challenges confronting our society.
Our companies drive innovation globally, and their cutting-edge products and services have revolutionized the way we live and work. None of our members’ innovative ideas would have become marketable products that launched job-creating businesses were it not for an intellectual property framework that enabled creativity to become invention.
ITI advocates on behalf of our member companies and the larger technology ecosystem for policies that support robust, modern intellectual property laws to promote the spirit of innovation that drives our economy and transforms our world.
Innovation through patent reform: It’s important for intellectual property rights to keep pace with recent advances and promote the creativity, investment, and address the risk involved in developing new technologies. However, out of control lawsuits by litigious non-practicing entities (NPEs) are exploiting shortcomings in patent laws against innovators and creators, siphoning billions of dollars from legitimate patent holders each year.
Abusive patent litigation does more than cast an unwelcome shadow on our intellectual property system—it deters investment in jobs and new technologies and harms innovation. ITI believes that Congress should act to ensure the continued success and viability of the patent system and prevent the waste and abuse caused by out-of-control litigation to help make America more competitive.
Ensuring the spirit of innovation: In today’s dynamic marketplace, a technology company’s success is highly dependent upon its innovations and competitive advantage, both of which are closely tied to the development and protection of trade secrets. When valuable intellectual property, particularly trade secrets, is stolen through cyber espionage or other means, it poses a serious economic security problem for technology companies and hurts the U.S. innovation economy. For that reason ITI supports a strong, uniform standard to protect trade secrets that will encourage creativity and ensure that today’s ideas will become tomorrow’s revolutionary technology.
Resources
- Tech Group NAFTA Copyright Letter (November 15, 2017)
- ITI AI Policy Principles (October 24, 2017)
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ITI Public Comments on Trade Violations and Abuses (August 01, 2017)
ITI's July 31, 2017, comments to the Trump Administration for its "Report to the President on Trade Agreement Violations and Abuses." ITI urged top trade officials to focus on technology-related trade ...
- ITI DTSA House Key Vote Letter (April 26, 2016)
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ITI Defending Trade Secrets Act Senate Key Vote Letter March 31, 2016 (March 31, 2016)
ITI Defending Trade Secrets Act Senate Key Vote Letter March 31, 2016
Techwonk Blog
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Ensuring Technology Serves as a Force for Good (March 06, 2019)
It’s easy to forget just how much technology has changed our world and our lives. A little more than a decade ago, a small business owner relied on foot traffic from local customers rather than web visits ...
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Tech Wins in the 114th Congress (December 21, 2016)
The conventional wisdom in Washington always holds to not expect much from divided government, and those expectations only lower heading into a presidential election year because hyper-partisanship can ...
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Tech’s 2016 Congressional Agenda: How to Promote Innovation & Economic Growth (February 12, 2016)
Previously I wrote that 2015 was predicted to be a year of gridlock, and yet despite deep partisanship in the nation’s capital, the tech sector saw several of our priorities passed into law. If lawmakers ...
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New Innovation Incentive Can Level the Field for U.S. Innovators Competing Around the Globe (September 29, 2015)
ITI released a letter commenting on the draft Innovation Promotion Act today. This bipartisan effort, led by Congressmen Charles Boustany, R-La., and Richard Neal, D-Mass., is a productive first step towards ...
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House Passes The Innovation Act – Next Stop for the Patent Reform Train: The U.S. Senate (December 06, 2013)
The legislative express train that has been patent reform reached top speed in the House of Representatives this afternoon, and its next scheduled stop will be the United States Senate. By a vote of 325-91, ...
News Releases
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ITI Releases European Tech Agenda Policy Recommendations (March 12, 2019)
BRUSSELS – ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, today released Policy Recommendations for a European Tech Agenda. The recommendations outline concrete steps that the European Union (EU) can take to ...
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ITI Hires Two to Grow Its Public Affairs Team (September 30, 2018)
WASHINGTON – ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, announced today that Jennie Westbrook Courts and Clare Sahin joined its public affairs team as vice president of external affairs and manager of state ...
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ITI Unveils First Industry-Wide Artificial Intelligence Policy Principles (October 24, 2017)
WASHINGTON – Today ITI, the global voice of the tech sector, released the first industry-wide policy principles on Artificial Intelligence (AI). These principles will serve as an important guide for industry ...
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Tech Unites to Offer First-Ever Innovation Platform to Presidential Candidates (May 04, 2016)
WASHINGTON – As the Republican and Democratic Presidential conventions draw near, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice of the tech sector, joined with a dozen technology ...
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ITI Urges President to Sign Trade Secrets Bill After it is Approved by Congress (April 27, 2016)
WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice of the tech sector, released a statement today from Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Andy Halataei praising lawmakers ...