US POLICY'S Effect on the Economic Value of Design

Abstract

WHILE MANY RECOGNIZE that design is an economic resource, enhancing competitiveness and productivity as well as contributing to a firm's long‐term strategic position in the marketplace, in the United States this asset is largely unprotected. Cooper Woodring explains that US designs that combine function and appearance can be copied and pirated without fear of sanction. To remedy the situation, he advocates passage of a bill that acknowledges design's importance and gives it the legal protection it deserves.