The Hill News

Today is 12th annual World Intellectual Property Day, when we celebrate the creators, innovators, and dreamers who dazzle us with their products and ideas and make our lives richer. Smart phones, lifesaving medicines, and drought resistant crops all started as the germ of an idea in someone's imagination. These ideas and the products they spawn are what's called intellectual property.

Fundamentally, intellectual property rightsâ€"embodied in patents, trademarks, and copyrightsâ€"are designed to promote innovation by incentivizing businesses and creators with the guarantee of legal protection for their creations. When a strong IP rights system is in place, innovators and creators can secure the resources needed for the research, production, and distribution processes. When the enforcement of IPR is considered unreliable, however, their ability to bring new products and creations to the market is threatened.

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