Online game piracy is a significant problem in Western Europe and...
Online game piracy is a significant problem in Western Europe and “underscores the need for better mechanisms to protect and enforce intellectual property rights in the networked digital environment,” the Entertainment Software Association said Tuesday. ESA’s research was included…
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in a “Special 301 Report” filed by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). ESA CEO Michael Gallagher called piracy “the single greatest threat to the innovation, artistic commitment and technological advancements enjoyed by millions of consumers worldwide.” He called piracy “a job killer that the world economy cannot afford” and criticized countries that “skirt obligations to combat piracy.” The report revealed large demand for unauthorized copies of console and handheld games, which ESA said indicated “widespread availability of circumvention devices and game copiers in many leading markets.” IIPA, which ESA is a member of, recommended that 40 of the countries be named to an appropriate USTR Watch List. Also included in the report was data that ESA said “revealed alarmingly high volumes of illegal game downloads” across P2P networks BitTorrent and eDonkey. Other findings cited in the report: (1) Users across 223 countries, territories and colonies downloaded illegal copies of games, and downloads of the two most popular titles were estimated to have been made across 219 of the regions. (2) Users downloaded 6.4 million illegal copies of the 13 titles that were studied in December. (3) Italy had the most illegal download activity at 17 percent, followed by Spain with 15.1 percent, France with 7.9 percent, Germany with 6.9 percent and Poland with 6.1 percent. (4) The heaviest downloading countries per capita were Israel, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Poland. (5) Telecom Italia was implicated in 11.6 percent of completed downloads, followed by Telefonica de Espana with 7.8 percent, France Telecom with 3.9 percent, Polish Telecom with 3.6 percent, Deutsche Telecom AG with 2.6 percent, Italy’s IUnet with 2.1 percent, France’s Neuf Cegetel with 1.6 percent, Spain’s Jazz Telecom with 1.57 percent, France’s Free SAS with 1.56 percent and Spain’s Uni2 with 1.53 percent. Meanwhile, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association said two raids in Scotland Friday led to the arrest of two pirates. A “large number of items including consoles and games were seized,” along with “mod chipping” equipment, it said. The games’ packaging bore ads it said encouraged consumers to buy additional counterfeit titles.