View source for Resolution Urging Canada's Trudeau Administration to Protect Intellectual Property Rights By Dismantling the Promise Doctrine and Opposing Similar Initiatives Proposed By Trading Partners Worldwide Exposed

{{Infobox ALEC Bills
|bill_title          = Resolution Urging Canada’s Trudeau Administration to Protect Intellectual Property Rights by Dismantling the Promise Doctrine and Opposing Similar Initiatives Proposed by Trading Partners Worldwide
|date_introduced     = July 28, 2016
|date_reviewed       = 
|date_finalized      = September 12, 2016
|date_amended        =	
|date_accessed       = May 1, 2018
|type                = Model Resolution
|status              = Final
|task_forces         = Federalism and International Relations
|keywords            = Intellectual Property
|notes               =
}}


<h2><em>Summary</em></h2>
<p></p>

<h1>Resolution Urging Canada’s Trudeau Administration to Protect Intellectual Property Rights by Dismantling the Promise Doctrine and Opposing Similar Initiatives Proposed by Trading Partners Worldwide</h1>

<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the right to own property is a fundamental human right; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) are crucial to the future of the innovation-based economy; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>creating an environment where property rights are protected and legally enforced contributes to social and economic growth and stability; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>scholarly research shows that the protection of intellectual property rights are key drivers for a country’s economic growth; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>various studies and indexes show that there is a strong positive correlation between a country’s robust intellectual property rights enforcement and GDP per capita; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>workers in IP-heavy industries are, on average, paid 30 percent higher in wages per worker at $50,576 compared to the national average of $38,768; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the pharmaceutical industry supports approximately 34,000 high paying jobs with over $1 billion per year invested in research; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>Canada has a history as one of the most highly developed environments for promoting the advancement of the arts and business through the defense of intellectual property rights; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>Canada has begun to lag behind other developed nations in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>IPR advocates are concerned with the “Promise Doctrine” which forces innovators to demonstrate the utility at the time of filing the patent; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>this Doctrine weakens innovators’ ability to defend and enforce their patents; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>weakening IPR is not only detrimental to the economy, but can also place the public’s health and safety at risk; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the protection of intellectual property incentivizes lifesaving medicines, breakthrough consumer products and green technologies; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the Promise Doctrine will hinder innovation and the access to medicine that accompanies strong IPR for both Canada and the United States; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>Canadian patients are already seeing the repercussions of decreased medical innovation as the number of clinical trials in Canada has decreased by 21 percent from 2005 to 2014; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the importance of secure intellectual property rights is recognized in international treaties and conventions; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>Canada and the United States’ close trading partnership benefits from our IP-related fields; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the Doctrine is at odds with international practices and with Canada’s obligations to both NAFTA and WTO; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>American IP-intensive industries account for 74 percent of U.S. exports or $1 trillion; and</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS, </strong>the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) recognizes the importance to the market economy of protecting all forms of intellectual property, including trademarks, brands, logos;</p>
<p><strong>NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED </strong>that ALEC call upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to uphold intellectual property rights in Canada and abroad by dismantling the Promise Doctrine; and</p>
<p><strong>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, </strong>that ALEC urge legislatures around the world to reject legislation it is asked to consider that threaten property rights; and</p>
<p><strong>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED </strong>that ALEC will submit this resolution to the Ambassador of Canada to the United States, the United States Trade Representative and the office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.</p>