We’re always telling you how important intellectual property is, we aren’t the only ones to notice. Here are some impressive numbers from a report issued by the US Department of Commerce:
75 industries have been identified as intellectual property intensive (out of 313 total industries!)
40 million Americans are employed in these and supporting industries (that comes to 27% of American jobs!)
$5.06 trillion are contributed to the gross domestic product by intellectual property intensive industries (that is 1/3 of the U.S. economy!)
This huge impact of intellectual property shows just why the America Invents Act is so important to the overall economy. The protection of great ideas encourages continued innovation and ultimately economic stimulation.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has implemented eight components of the America Invents Act since September. It has begun accepting fast-track patent applications and is completing reviews of them in an average of 42 days. The patent office has also reduced its build up of 750,000 applications in early 2009 to 641,000 today.
These improvements are definitely a step in the right direction, but there is certainly more to do. What other changes do you think would positively impact intellectual property and it’s impact on the economy?
