The Costs of Global Intellectual Property Piracy: How Can The Phenomenon Be Empirically Quantified?

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The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club

Event

The Costs of Global Intellectual Property Piracy:

How Can The Phenomenon

Be Empirically Qualified?

Bootleg copies of music, movies, software and video games created in the United States can often be found on the streets of the major cities of the world, on file-sharing networks, and in so-called 'cyberlockers.' But is there a consistent method of quantifying the phenomenon? And how can we measure the effectiveness of enforcement efforts undertaken both by the private and public sector? If we can't measure "piracy rates" exactly, what are some other proxy methods we might be able to use?

The question is becoming increasingly pertinent as intellectual property continues to grow in importance as a driver of global economic growth, and as trade negotiators and governments negotiate trade deals and enforcement pacts. Domestically, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the federal budget would allocate about $429 million between 2009 and 2013 to implement the 2008 law the Pro-IP Act. Without proper numbers, how can appropriators devote the appropriate resources to attacking the problem?  Are there private sector solutions on the horizon? What’s the right balance between private and public enforcement?

Change is coming to the world of intellectual property. The Obama Administration's IP Czar is taking a hands-on approach to brokering industry-led solutions to the problems of copyright piracy and the Intellectual Property Breakfast Club is emerging as the place at the center of the Washington IP debate. Every month, we offer a neutral forum to discuss the policy, business, legal and technological issues surrounding copyrights, patents and trademarks on the internet. BroadbandBreakfast.com hosts the Intellectual Property Breakfast Club on the Second Tuesday of the month. It is a natural companion to our successful Broadband Breakfast Club, which meets on the Third Tuesday of the month.

This event is on the record and open to the public. 

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Event Details

Title: The Costs of Global Intellectual Property Piracy: How Can The Phenomenon Be Empirically Qualified? 

Date: Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. 

Where: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

Panelists:

Sean Flynn, Associate Director, Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP), Washington College of Law, America University

Sean Flynn teaches courses on the intersection of intellectual property, trade law, and human rights and is the Associate Director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP). Sean designs and manages a wide variety of research and advocacy projects that promote public interests in intellectual property and information law and coordinates PIJIP’s academic program. Sean's research examines legal frameworks promoting access to essential goods and services. He alsoserves as counsel for advocacy organizations and state legislatures seeking to promote and defend regulations that promote access to essential medicines. Prior to joining WCL, Sean completed clerkships with Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson on the South African Constitutional Court and Judge Raymond Fisher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also represented consumers and local governments as a senior associate with Spiegel & McDiarmid and as senior attorney for the Consumer Project on Technology, served on the policy team advising then Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval Patrick, and taught Constitutional Law at the University of Witwaterstrand, South Africa.

Bruce A. Lehman, President, International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI)

Bruce Lehman is the President and board chairman of the International Intellectual Property Institute. From August 1993 through December 1998 he served as assistant secretary of commerce and U.S. commissioner of patents and trademarks. In that capacity he was responsible for advising the President and his administration on all policy matters involving the intellectual property system, domestically and internationally. This included the final negotiation of the TRIPS Agreement (the intellectual property provisions of the WTO Treaty) and the successful negotiation of the WIPO Copyright Treaties which were implemented by the Congress as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Concurrently with his Commerce Department responsibilities, in the fall of 1997 at the request of President Clinton he served as acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which fosters and recognizes the work of America's artistic and creative community.

Morgan Reed, Executive Director, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT)

Morgan Reed is a highly sought after expert on the intersection of government and technology. Beginning with a career in the ROC (Taiwan) and China, Morgan has dealt with foreign governments, telecommunications groups, software manufacturers and small business owners managing the core issues of innovation and IP. As Executive Director of ACT, Morgan specializes in issues including patents and copyrights in the digital age. His commentary and insight has been sought by the U.S. Senate High Tech Working Group, the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Intellectual Property and Piracy, and the State Senate of California. Morgan’s latest work has focused on developing a culture of IP within entrepreneurial organizations worldwide.

Matt Robinson, SVP of Business Development and General Counsel

Matt leads the company's business development and strategic partnership intiatives and also servees as the company's general counsel. Matt has been involved with internet and new media companies for the past decade, focusing on the intersection of content, technology and law. Before joining Attributor, Matt spent 6 years at Yahoo!, most recently as Vice President and Associate General Counsel overseeing legal product counseling. Matt holds a BA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Stephen E. Siwek, Principal, Economists, Inc.

Stephen E. Siwek is Principal at Economists Incorporated, a research and consulting firm with offices in Washington D.C. and in the San Francisco Bay area. Active in research and consulting for over 30 years, Stephen specializes in the analysis of economic, financial, and accounting issues. He has testified as an expert witness before regulatory bodies and courts on more than 80 occasions. Stephen has particular expertise in the economic analysis of the U.S motion picture industry and of the related U.S. industries that depend on the effective protection of copyrights. Since 1990, Stephen has published eleven studies on behalf of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (“IIPA”) that analyzed in detail the economic importance of the U.S. “copyright” industries to the US economy. 

Loren Yager, Director, International Affairs and Trade, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Loren Yager is currently serving as Director of International Affairs and Trade at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.  Loren has recently completed reports and Congressional Testimonies on topics including U.S. Trade Preference Programs, U. S. Free Trade Agreements, Intellectual Property Protection, Conflict Diamonds, Burma Jade Act, China Import Remedies, Global Corporate Social Responsibility, Offshoring of U.S. Services, Terrorist Financing, China’s WTO Compliance, the Maquiladora Industry, Container Security, and a variety of other subjects. Dr. Yager is also a frequent speaker in national and international conferences as well as in the international audit community.

The breakfast begins at 8 a.m., followed by a discussion, beginning shortly after 8:30 a.m. and ending by 10 a.m.

The event will be hosted and moderated by Drew Clark, Chairman and Founder, BroadbandBreakfast.com, a news and events company building a community around broadband stimulus, the national broadband plan, and intellectual property.  Drew Clark has a long-standing reputation for fairness and depth in his reporting. He worked for the National Journal Group for eight years, ran the telecommunications and media ownership project of the Center for Public Integrity, and was Assistant Director of the Information Economy Project at George Mason University. He has written widely on the politics of telecom, media and technology for a variety of publications, including the Washington Post, GigaOm, Slate, and Ars Technica. Drew launched BroadbandCensus.com in January 2008 as a means of providing objective information about broadband speeds, prices, availability, reliability and competition.

The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club is a "widely attended event" under House of Representatives Rule 25, clause 5(a)(4)(A).

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