Today's guest blog is brought to you by the Director of the
Global Intellectual Property Center at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, Aaron Smethurst. It’s easy to understand that the
protection of intellectual property (IP) rights helps deliver
meaningful jobs and boosts our economy [link to old guest blog],
but what does it have to do with our personal safety? While you
might think that counterfeiting and piracy only hurts someone’s
wallet, a much more dangerous epidemic of IP theft is now
hurting consumer health and safety, with the mushrooming of fake
medicines, brake pads, and power cords in the global market.
Counterfeiting and piracy are very lucrative industries, and the
criminals who oversee these operations are concerned solely with
lining their own pockets – not your health and safety or the
good of society. Because the penalties are much lower compared
with the trade in illegal drugs or weapons, the illicit trade in
counterfeit goods and hosting pirated materials has become the
preferred form of cash f