Rosalie Steier

Congress is paying careful attention to threats to U.S. high technology from two areas: trademark and patent infringement and proposed foreign violation of U.S. copyright laws. Computer technology is becoming a major victim of the nearly $8 billion counterfeit business threatening the American economy. Some recent product examples include fake Apple computers seized by U.S. Customs and reverse engineered Apples and other microcomputers on sale in Hong Kong for $300, about a third of the price of a genuine product. U.S. firms fear losses large enough to hinder research and development efforts. This would result in erosion of their technological edge.