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    April 28, 2021

    World IP Day 2021

    A Focus on Small Businesses

    World IP Day was established by the U.N. World IP Organization to celebrate and raise awareness of how IP affects our daily lives.

    World IP Day was established by the U.N. World IP Organization to celebrate and raise awareness of how IP affects our daily lives.

    In recent years, the American Bar Association has taken a renewed interest in the intellectual property sector, as major advancements make their way through Congress. This came to a head on April 26th when ABA Intellectual Property Law (IPL) Section Chair June Besek was a featured speaker at the annual World Intellectual Property (IP) Day program to discuss the recent passage of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, a central issue featured in last year’s ABA Day.

    World IP Day was established by the U.N. World IP Organization to celebrate and raise awareness of how IP affects our daily lives. This year’s theme was “Small Businesses Taking Big Ideas to Market,” and earlier this month, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation commemorating World IP Day 2021.

    This year was an exceptional program featuring leaders from the organized bar, IP industry, and government organizations, all discussing the importance of IP for small business.  Some honored guests included U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the Hon. Gina Raimondo; Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA); Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA); and Acting U.S. Patent Trade Office Director Andrew Hirshfeld.  

    IP Section Chair June Besek discussed the evolution of the U.S. copyright system and emphasized how small businesses can effectively use copyrights to protect their work.  She further discussed the newly enacted CASE Act, and the ABA’s role as a key advocate for passage of this legislation at the end of last year. The CASE Act offers small businesses and independent creators a valuable tool to seek remedies for unauthorized infringement.  At present, the U.S. Copyright Office is developing the final rules for the new Copyright Claims Board. The ABA IPL Section is currently reviewing these proposed rules and plans on submitting comments soon.

    Some of the other featured government speakers included Catherine Zaller Rowland, Associate Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office; and Mary Critharis, Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs, USPTO.

    Participating organizations included the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, INTA, and the Intellectual Property Owners (IPO).

    For more information on World IP Day, please visit here.