Small Business and World Intellectual Property Day

In recognition of April 26 being “World Intellectual Property Day,” the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) published the “Top 10 Reasons Intellectual Property Rights Matter to Small Business.”

The Top 10 is:

10. Small Businesses Are Robust Innovators.

9. Small Business Tend To Be At the Cutting Edge of Innovation.

8. The Self-Employed Represent a Big Chunk of U.S. Copyright Businesses.

7. Key Copyright Industries Are Overwhelmingly About Small Businesses.

6. Strong Intellectual Property Rights Are Positive for Self-Employment Globally.

5. Patent Systems Are Particularly Important for Small Businesses.

4. IP Theft Is Economically and Individually Destructive.

3. The Evidence Overwhelmingly Shows That Innovation is a Key Driver of Economic Growth.

2. Economic History Confirms That Intellectual Property Protections Matter for Innovators and Development.

1. Ultimately, Intellectual Property Rights Incentivize Innovators to Innovate.

To get the details on each of these, please go to http://www.sbecouncil.org/news/display.cfm?ID=4898.

For example, on item #7, the analysis in part notes, “Based on Census Bureau data (2009 most recent), these core copyright industries are dominated by small firms: a) 83% of newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers had fewer than 20 employees; b) 70% of software publishers had less than 20 workers; c) 93% of firms in the motion picture and sound recording industries had less than 20 employees; and d) 76% of firms in the radio and television broadcasting business had less than 20 workers.”

SBE Council chief economist Raymond J. Keating noted, “Celebrating intellectual property means celebrating entrepreneurs and small businesses, who are the innovators in the economy. Make no mistake, intellectual property rights and protections matter most to the entrepreneurial sector, given the big role small firms play in innovation and IP industries, how IP rights spur self-employment, the importance of patent protections for smaller firms, and the overall importance of IP to economic growth.”