Sixteen U.S. Senators who sit on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on April 2, which urged commission members to support efforts and calls by the states to combat IP theft.
In the letter, the bipartisan group of Senators wrote: “We are writing to you to ask you to consider a request submitted by the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) to use all the tools at your disposal to fight the theft and use of stolen American manufacturing information technology (IT) and intellectual property (IP).” SBE Council shares the concerns of these Senators as the theft of, and disregard for, IP hurts small to mid-size firms and their ability to compete domestically and internationally. Innovation and investment also suffer as a result of such theft.
Specifically, the letter points to businesses that use stolen IP. The Senators believe this is unfair, stifles innovation and forces “law-abiding businesses – large and small –to compete against those businesses that reduce their operating costs through the use of pirated IP.”
The NAAG has asked for the support of the FTC in fighting stolen IP, and put that request in writing on November 4, 2011.
Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO
