Gary Locke, the U.S. commerce secretary, recently issued an official statement to mark the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day.

The statement, which was posted on the official website of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, described intellectual property as a central driver of innovation and economic growth. According to Locke, innovation is "at the heart of U.S. job creation, competitiveness and global strength."

Locke stated that the current competitive economic climate makes the protection of U.S. intellectual property rights more important than ever before. By ensuring that inventors are able to profit from their intellectual assets, a strong intellectual property enforcement system helps to enable inventors to receive capital and hire employees. This, in turn, creates jobs, opens up new industries and generates economic opportunities for Americans, Locke said.

Locke also took the opportunity to praise the patent reform legislation currently being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. With this legislation, "we have the opportunity to modernize the U.S. intellectual property system and empower the USPTO to speed the movement of job-creating ideas to the marketplace," Locke said.

This year marks the 11th time World Intellectual Property Day is being celebrated.