TAPP Executive Director Pat Rosenstiel Thanks Baucus in the Missoulian

Thank Baucus for helping to protect nation's greatest export: intellectual property

Originally published February 13th online at http://missoulian.com

What would you say is America’s greatest export? And how many pounds, gallons, barrels or bushels of this product make it beyond our borders each year? What percentage of our GDP does this asset account for?

Truthfully, our greatest resource is not one that can be quantified by any traditional unit of measurement. America’s greatest export is our intellectual property. Our innovative ideas represent the United States’ most valuable asset in a competitive world economy – and, unfortunately, the most vulnerable. Fortunately, Montana and the nation have a strong and principled spokesman in Sen. Max Baucus on the issue of IP protections.

The Global Intellectual Property Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently released the 2014 Global IP Index, which highlighted the sharp and alarming contrast between American intellectual property standards and those found in countries such as India and Thailand.

From software development to manufacturing, Montana companies are fighting an uphill battle in many foreign markets to protect their patents, copyrights and trademarks against blatant infringement and outright theft. This fact poses a serious threat to Montana job creators’ incentive for continued innovation, jeopardizing a tradition of groundbreaking advancements in medicine and technology that have developed from our strong IP codes.

If we want to see the preservation of American innovation in the world economy – and legal protection of America’s best ideas – we must insist our lawmakers keep their promises to promote rigid IP standards in trade policies like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Baucus deserves credit for sticking to his principles and standing strong for Montana on this important issue.

Patrick J. Rosentiel,

St. Paul, Minn.