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New Position Charged with Marshalling Federal Resources in Defense of Key US Sectors
The following is a statement from Business Software Alliance (BSA) President and CEO Robert Holleyman, commending President Barack Obama’s nomination of Victoria Espinel to serve as White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator:
“In April, Vice President Joe Biden emphasized the need to find the ‘right person’ for the job of coordinating the US Government’s intellectual property (IP) enforcement efforts, recognizing IP’s crucial role in the US economy. Victoria is that right person. She will bring considerable firepower to the Administration’s efforts to promote IP policies that are modern, comprehensive, and enforceable.
“The computer software industry is the largest copyright industry in the United States, and all kinds of software depend on enforceable IP protections. But piracy of copyrighted software continues to plague our industry and the US economy. The retail value of pirated software worldwide in 2008 was $53 billion, with $9.1 billion attributable to the US alone. The lion’s share of those losses are felt by US-based software companies. Such a substantial hit on the software industry is a hit on US jobs and communities today, and economic growth and innovation in the future.
“Better coordination of the anti-piracy efforts of agencies such as the Department of Justice, the US Patent and Trademark Office, and the US Trade Representative under focused White House leadership will help ensure that the software industry — and all industries that depend on software — can continue to innovate and propel the US economy.
“BSA and its member companies urge an expeditious review and confirmation of this nomination, and we look forward to working with Victoria Espinel for reasonable and enforceable IP policies in the US and worldwide.”
Editor’s Note: BSA’s complete US Technology Policy Agenda is online here.
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce.& BSA members include Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, AVG, Bentley Systems, CA, Cadence, Cisco Systems, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Embarcadero, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft, Minitab, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, SAP, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, Synopsys, and The MathWorks.
Lars Andersonmedia@bsa.org+1.202.346.8811
United States
