Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) delivered an opening statement during his first hearing as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Foreign Threats to American Innovation and Economic Leadership. In his remarks, Schiff highlighted the need for American goods and intellectual property (IP) to be protected from foreign counterfeits, piracy, and infringement.
During the hearing, Schiff heard testimony from witnesses who spoke on the need for strong IP laws that prevent foreign interference with American innovation and protect American consumers, as well as the importance of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) working in good faith to combat foreign piracy.
The witnesses who appeared before the subcommittee included Mark Cohen, Senior Technology Fellow at the Asia Society of Northern California; Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel at Motion Picture Association; Bradford Muller, Vice President, Corporate Communications at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company; and Aaron Bores, Executive Vice President, Product Development at Moen.
Watch Schiff’s full opening remarks HERE. Download opening remarks HERE.
Key Excerpt from Opening Statement:
Business owners from California to North Carolina, from Tennessee to Hawaii, and everywhere in between should have the confidence that their patents, copyrights, and trademarks are not being infringed by copycat companies overseas.
American consumers should have confidence when they buy a product advertised as coming from an American company, that they are getting the real deal – not a counterfeit version from overseas that does not comply with the same safety or manufacturing standards as required in the United States.
America’s leading tech companies must be confident that they can innovate without worrying about their trade secrets being stolen by foreign competitors – especially companies that are developing artificial intelligence models that are so important to our national security.
When companies abroad steal detailed information about American firms and innovations, and the software, model weights, chips to develop their own technology, it makes it easier to surpass us in the global race to develop AI and so many other innovations.
Read the transcript of his remarks as delivered below:
Thank you, Chairman Tillis, for convening the first Intellectual Property Subcommittee hearing of the term.
I’m really honored to be the Ranking Member on this subcommittee and look forward to continuing the strong bipartisan tradition that you and Senator Coons have maintained for many years now.
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here. I look forward to your testimony. Mr. Muller, I’m particularly interested in your experience.
I remember years ago one of my constituents coming to me. He was the manufacturer of high-end speaker equipment that’s used in rock concerts.
The brand was extremely valuable. He sought a broker to manufacture the brand in China, they started manufacturing in China. He was not pleased with the quality of the manufacturer. So he went to the broker to find a different in China.
About a year later, he found out that the first manufacture continued to make his speaker equipment and market under his company name. And unbeknownst to him had gone to the trademark office in China and secured the trademark for his own brand. And it sounds like you’ve had a similar experience.
I’m also eager to highlight the innovative and unbounded IP that has come out of the United States and I’m really proud obviously of what’s come out of California.
Whether it’s the University of California system, which consistently leads universities in the number of patents granted, or the Silicon Valley, home to some of the most incredible tech innovation. I am proud to represent California in the Senate and to serve on this Committee.
The U.S. is home to some of the strongest intellectual property systems in the world, in large part because of the ingenuity and dedication of our inventors.
But it’s also due to the strength of our IP laws, which aim to protect American innovation from nefarious actors and to put money back into the pockets of our inventors and creators.
The Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Copyright Office both play crucial roles in reenforcing those laws and protecting American IP and it’s essential that they remain strong and independent.
I am concerned I must say with the administration’s removal of the Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, on Saturday, which does threaten to undermine the independence of that office. And I have written to the president to register my concern over this as well as the legality of doing so.
But in terms of the reason we’re here today, in order for the United States to compete globally, it is critical that American innovators and intellectual property are protected at home and abroad.
I know that the Chairman, myself, and our colleagues agree that we need to be doing everything in our power to maintain the U.S. position as the worldwide leader in innovation.
Business owners from California to North Carolina, from Tennessee to Hawaii, and everywhere in between should have the confidence that their patents, copyrights, and trademarks are not being infringed by copycat companies overseas.
American consumers should have confidence when they buy a product advertised as coming from an American company, that they are getting the real deal – not a counterfeit version from overseas that does not comply with the same safety or manufacturing standards as required in the United States.
America’s leading tech companies must be confident that they can innovate without worrying about their trade secrets being stolen by foreign competitors – especially companies that are developing artificial intelligence models that are so important to our national security.
When companies abroad steal detailed information about American firms and innovations, and the software, model weights, chips to develop their own technology, it makes it easier to surpass us in the global race to develop AI and so many other innovations.
We also know that in many cases, foreign theft of these trade secrets can pose national security risks if those secrets land in the hands of foreign governments.
And I know our witnesses will speak to these themes and more.
So thank you again for joining us. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and very excited about the work ahead.
###