The Richardson Record on IP

by Mark Esper

Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama announced his selection of Governor Bill Richardson as commerce secretary.  In light of this announcement, a review of Richardson's record on intellectual property (IP) suggests he recognizes the importance of clamping down on IP theft and has embraced IP-intensive industries as vital to creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.

As New Mexico's governor, Richardson sought to make the state a prime destination for filmmaking as a means of boosting the state economy.  For example:

Gov. Bill Richardson Has Encouraged New Mexico's Film Industry By Waging A Five-Year Campaign With "Unusually Aggressive Incentives," Including A 25 Percent Rebate On Film Production Expenditures.  "That the ‘Terminator' sequel should be pushed into the breach -- whether the actors' guild had a contract this summer or not -- owed much to a five-year campaign by Gov. Bill Richardson to build New Mexico's film industry with unusually aggressive incentives. His program offers a 25 percent rebate on virtually all film production expenditures in the state, without a cap." (Michael Cieply, "This Film Will Be Back, Strike Or No Strike," The New York Times, 7/2/08)

Gov. Richardson Has Highlighted The Positive Impact Of The Film Industry On New Mexico's Economy, Noting The "Hundreds Of Jobs" It Has Created. "‘Promoting the film industry is a good, clean way that we have created hundreds of jobs in New Mexico,' said Governor Bill Richardson." (New Mexico Department Of Economic Development, "Gov. Richardson Leads New Mexico To Become First ‘Green Production' State," Press Release, 11/15/06)

Gov. Richardson's Office Has Noted The Film Industry's Significant Increase In Economic Impact, Which Reached More Than $300 Million In 2006. "For the fiscal year 2002 the film industry created $8 million in economic impact for the state. For the fiscal year 2006 the film industry will have created over $300 million in economic impact." (Office Of Governor Bill Richardson, "Gov. Richardson Announces ‘The Hitcher' To Shoot In Santa Fe," Press Release, 6/26/06)

We are encouraged that Bill Richardson's experience in New Mexico has instilled in him an appreciation for the economic benefits our nation's creative industries yield.  We hope this experience also translates into a broader recognition of strong IP rights as the underlying incentive for all our innovative industries.  This perspective would mark a welcome sign about the quality of advice President-elect Obama will be receiving and his administration's approach to protecting IP.  Richardson's experience at the Department of Energy and the United Nations will also be valuable as negotiations continue on the role of IP rights in a global climate change treaty.  We look forward to learning more about Richardson's plans to protect IP during the Senate confirmation hearing process.

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Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) Signed An Executive Order Banning The Use Of State IT Resources For Downloading Pirated Software. "New Mexico just instituted a policy for state agencies. By executive order of Governor Bill Richardson, staff ‘shall have no expectations of privacy with respect to state IT resource usage.' IT resources are to be used solely for state business, and staff cannot download pirated software, such as music files or extremist material, using state IT resources." ("Trash Sites," Governing Magazine, 9/03)

In 2005, Gov. Richardson Endorsed An Agreement Designed To Streamline The Licensing And Commercialization Of Patented Technologies. "With the blessing of New Mexico's governor and its two U.S. senators, seven research institutions on Friday signed an agreement meant to streamline the commercialization of technology. The agreement should make it faster and easier for businesses that want to use technologies developed by New Mexico's national laboratories, universities and other research centers to negotiate licenses to do so. Under the arrangement, the institutions would ‘bundle' their patents, allowing a business that wanted to use technologies from more than one institution to license the right to use those patents in a single agreement. The licensing would be handled by one institution, which would speed up the process significantly. … Domenici, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Gov. Bill Richardson signed a statement of support for the agreement at a ceremony in the Capitol." ("Research Institutions Sign Agreement," The Associated Press, 2/25/05)