Intellectual Property News

U.S. Government Urges Businesses To Protect Their Intellectual Property From Theft Overseas

Austin, Texas – U. S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Stephen Pinkos and U.S. Representative Lamar Smith today warned an audience of Austin small-businessmen and women that they are increasingly vulnerable to overseas intellectual property theft -- even if they do not
export -- and urged them to consider protective action.

In remarks before the “Conference on the Global Intellectual Property Marketplace,” sponsored by the
Commerce Department’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Pinkos and Smith urged the audience
to consider intellectual property protection in the United States and overseas a priority business decision.
Pinkos noted that 90 percent of the companies exporting goods from Texas in 2002 were small and mediumsized
firms.

“Texas’ innovators and inventors are among the best that our country has to offer, and the intellectual
property that they develop is critical to the U.S. economy as a whole,” Pinkos said. “This seminar in Austin
will educate Texas small business owners and arm them with the information they need to protect their
intellectual property and continue to grow our economy.”

Congressman Lamar Smith, Chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet
and Intellectual Property, also attended the seminar and emphasized the importance of new legislation
supporting intellectual property rights.

While theft of intellectual property poses a serious threat to all American businesses, small businesses are
particularly vulnerable because they often lack the knowledge and expertise to effectively combat it. Because
small businesses typically do not have personnel or maintain large operations in other countries, theft of their
intellectual property overseas can go undetected.

The Austin seminar is the third in a series the USPTO is hosting across the country to help educate American
small businesses about the realities of piracy and counterfeiting. During the two-day seminar (September 12-
13, 2005) in Austin, intellectual property experts from the agency are providing attendees with details and
useful tips about protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in the United States and around
the world.

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	Did You Know?
	There are variations of temporary placeholders for patents and inventions. Provisional applications can be temporary placeholders that allow inventors to file inexpensively and also without a formal patent claim, declaration or oath.