MEDIA CONTACT:
Scott Robertson, APR
Director of Marketing & Communications
NAMM, the International Music Products Association
760-438-8007, ext. 102
Fax: 760-438-8257
e-mail:
scottr@namm.com
NAMM WORKS WITH
U.S. PATENT OFFICE TO PROTECT MEMBERS' INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
CARLSBAD, Calif., January 13, 2006 � NAMM, the International Music Products Association, is working with United States Patent and Trademark Office to protect the intellectual property rights of its Members by providing valuable information at this year's NAMM Show.
Intellectual property includes creative works or ideas represented in a form that can be shared, or can enable others to recreate, emulate, or manufacture them. Piracy, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft pose a serious threat to all U.S. businesses today. Industry groups estimate that every year, American businesses lose $250 billion to copyright piracy and 750,000 jobs per year to overall IP theft. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets are four of the most common ways to protect intellectual property.
"NAMM is firmly against property rights infringement and we want to make sure that our Members are taking the right steps to protect their intellectual assets as they present new products to a global audience here at the NAMM Show," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO, NAMM.
A flyer directing NAMM Members to information from the U.S. Department of Commerce will be distributed to all NAMM Show exhibitors. In addition, a more detailed brochure explaining the threats to intellectual properties and some strategies to protect them will be available to all exhibiting Members in the NAMM Show office.
For more information on protecting your company's intellectual property rights, log on to the U.S. government Web site,
www.StopFakes.gov
, or call 1-866-999-4258.
About NAMM
The International Music Products Association, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization�s popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $16 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM�s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties can visit
www.namm.com
or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).
 
