The Impacts of Theft of Intellectual Property Rights on U.S. Jobs

MANUFACTURERS AND HARVARD ECONOMIST BILL KERR TO UNVEIL STUDY ON NEGATIVE IMPACT OF SOFTWARE THEFT ON U.S. JOBS, COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION

Study Unveiling and Panel Discussion on January 30 at 10:30 a.m. at NAM Headquarters 

On January 30, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and Harvard economist Bill Kerr will unveil their new economic study, which eliminates the idea that software piracy is a problem that only affects software and technology companies. The NAM/Kerr study found that stolen software negatively impacts the U.S. manufacturing sector through unfair competition, resulting in losses in U.S. manufacturing revenue, jobs, patents and GDP.

The NAM will disclose the results of the study as well as a member survey on intellectual property (IP) theft and host a discussion with experts and manufacturers whose companies have been negatively impacted by software theft.

WHAT:

Study unveiling and roundtable on Economic Impact of Global Software Theft on U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness and Innovation

WHO:

Moderator: Rob McKenna, partner, Orrick; former attorney general of the State of Washington and cofounder of the Intellectual Property Task Force at the National Association of Attorneys General; and current president of the National Alliance for Jobs and Innovation (NAJI).

• Brian Raymond, director of technology and domestic economic policy, NAM
• Bill Kerr, associate professor of business administration, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Mass.

• Drew Greenblatt, president and owner, Marlin Steel Wire Products, Baltimore, Md., NAJI chairman & co Founder and NAM executive board member
• Daniel Abdun-Nabi, president and CEO, Emergent Biosolutions, Rockville, Md., and NAM board member
• Michael Sigourney, president and CEO, AVTECH Software Inc., Warren, R.I., and NAJI member

WHEN:

Thursday, January 30, 2014, at 10:30 a.m. EST

WHERE:

NAM Headquarters, 733 10th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC, 20001

To attend or dial in to the roundtable discussion, please RSVP to Matt Lavoie at (202) 637-3085 or mlavoie@nam.org.

About the NAM

The NAM is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12 million men and women, contributes more than $1.8 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for two-thirds of private-sector research and development.

About Bill Kerr

Bill Kerr is an associate professor at Harvard Business School, where he focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation. Kerr has researched agglomeration and entrepreneurship and how government policies aid or hinder the entry of new firms, cluster formation and growth. He has worked extensively with the World Bank, Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and the National Science Foundation and has received several awards for his research papers.

About NAJI

NAJI, which commissioned the study with the NAM, is a nonpartisan organization of more than 300 U.S. businesses and industry experts working together to stop unfair competition from the use of stolen IP, whether it be through piracy, counterfeiting or trade secret theft.