World IP Day Intensifies Call for Protections, Reform
To spotlight neglect of intellectual property (IP) protection rights, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chmn. Lugar (R-Ind.) and Finance Committee Ranking Democrat Baucus (Mont.) introduced a resolution Tues. to highlight the damage done by China and Russia. Tallying over $4 billion in losses to U.S. creators of copyright products alone, the resolution cited those nations’ failure to live by international standards of protection and enforcement. The resolution, timed to coincide with World Intellectual Property Day, describes piracy in China and Russia as “open, notorious and permitted to operate without meaningful hindrance from the governments of those countries.”
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The resolution marks growing congressional discontent with the status quo in Russia, said RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol. Earlier this month, Lugar wrote to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) calling Russia “one of the world’s leading exporters of pirated products.” Also in April, Sen. Finance Committee Chmn. Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Baucus in urging trade officials and the Bush Administration to resolve concerns before wrapping up talks that would let Russia join the WTO.
Last year’s Special 301 annual report from the USTR on the adequacy and effectiveness of IP property rights protection in trading partners cited rampant piracy and lack of IP rights enforcement in Russia, Brazil, Pakistan and other countries. USTR said addressing enforcement problems in China was one of the administration’s top priorities. This year’s Special 301 report should surface in the coming days. A USTR spokesman said his office wouldn’t release a statement Tues. in honor of World IP Day, and he admitted that he was completely unaware of the event.
“The message to these countries is clear. They are cheating themselves by failing to take effective action to prevent the creative works of their own citizens, U.S. citizens and those of other countries, from blatant theft,” said Eric Smith, pres. of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). Without providing crucial IP protection, “many of the great cultural and technological assets that we now take for granted would never have been available to us to improve our lives,” he said. Enforcement of the laws that nurture creativity embodied in IP is often taken for granted or viewed by some as no longer necessary, Smith added: “We too often forget the important cultural and economic benefits, jobs, contributions to GDP and tax revenues that are dependent on a strong intellectual property system.”
Cyber-Outreach Focuses on Youth
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Dir. Gen. Kamil Idris said the IP community should be working “to encourage young people everywhere to recognize the creator, the problem-solver, the artist within themselves.”
Business Software Alliance (BSA) Pres. Robert Holleyman urged action to “continue our shared public-private efforts to deter piracy and promote intellectual property rights in every corner of the globe.” BSA promotes programs for elementary and higher education students that encourage good cyber-citizenship and respect for IP rights. BSA’s Web-based initiatives -- “Play It Safe in Cyber Space” and “Define the Line” -- provide fact sheets, research and curricula that emphasize legal use of software. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, BSA efforts include a project to encourage responsible Internet behavior in Ireland, a joint education program with industry groups in Italy and a new research awards program for German university students. In Asia, BSA started a responsible Web use campaign in the Philippines and Taiwan and plans to expand that effort to other countries.
From Algeria to Zimbabwe, WIPO member states joined the action. Patent offices held seminars on IP protection and IP’s role in economic development. TV, radio and print ads, as well as brochures and leaflets, got out the word. Even 2 countries repeatedly lambasted by Congress and the USTR took part. Govt. officials in Hong Kong said radio broadcasts and 2 newspaper supplements would publicize IP day. In Russia, representatives from the public and private sector met to boost public awareness and understanding of IP.
Progress & Freedom Foundation senior fellow Jim DeLong said the attention given to ease of IP transmission and the need to provide incentives for IP creation are fueling the debate. The MGM v. Grokster case, argued last month before the Supreme Court (WID March 30 p1), is a prime example, he said. Questions remain about how stakeholders are going to “work out the tension” in a fight that is becoming increasingly complex. Flash points include how far and how long IP protections should extend and how patents on IP are fundamentally defined, he said. “You have this international community that doesn’t understand it and sees it as another imperialist trick,” DeLong said.