BOSTON, August 20, 2002 -- The Northern Textile Association (NTA) announces the formation of a working group to identify and seek solutions to the problem of international piracy of intellectual property in the textile industry. "We consider ourselves producers of art by the yard," said group member George Shuster, President and CEO of Cranston Print Works Co., "Design has become such a critical core competency for the survival of so many textile companies such as ourself that the most aggressive measures are absolutely necessary against infringers."

The NTA Intellectual Property Working Group--made up of representatives from companies that produce upholstery fabrics, printed fabrics, and apparel fabrics-- is preparing a "white paper" to present to the U.S. government in which they plan to outline the extent of the problem of intellectual property theft, the monetary losses experienced by American companies, and request specific actions the U.S. could take to combat IP violations. Last month the group met in Washington with officials from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and U.S. Customs Service. At that meeting, James C. Leonard, III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Textiles, Apparel and Consumer Goods Industries pledged the resources of his office on focusing government attention on the issue.

"This is at least a $100 million a year problem in the U.S. alone," said Larry Liebenow, CEO of Quaker Fabric Corporation, citing an estimate developed by the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, "and far more than that in the global market, which will become increasingly important as the U.S. develops new trade agreements around the world." Liebenow continued, "Every participant in the chain - importers, furniture manufacturers, retailers - needs to know that they are liable for substantial damages if they are found to be selling products that infringe on US copyrights."

As part of the preparation of the "white paper" the group has commenced a survey of the American textile industry to quantify the value of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights and estimate the magnitude, in dollars, of losses due to lack international enforcement of intellectual property rights. The Northern Textile Association International Intellectual Property Working Group is also exploring the possibility of bringing an action under section 337 of the Trade Act against one or more of the most egregious offenders.

[Northern Textile Association members process fiber, spin yarn, weave and knit fabric, and dye, print and otherwise finish textile products. NTA, the nation's oldest industrial trade association, recently announced a merger with the Knitted Textile Association. The new organization will have a combined membership of over 200 companies. The merger is expected to be ratified at the NTA Annual Meeting, September 22-24, at the Black Point Inn, Prouts Neck, Scarborough, Maine; at that time the name of the organization will be changed to the NATIONAL TEXTILE ASSOCIATION.]

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