Piracy increases
Date: June 18, 2004Source: Computer Crime Research Center
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A World Congress of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has finished its work in Morocco. The participants certified: a world market of counterfeit and piracy production rose up to annual 500 billion of euro and still continues to grow.
Counterfeit production trade amounts to 7% of total world turnover. According to the ICC, piracy economy idles 120 thousand of people in the US and 100 thousand in Europe annually.
China and Russia are named among the most malevolent violators of intellectual property rights. According to the Peking Committee on Brands Protection of 90 international companies, about 25% of all Chinese internal market are counterfeit products. Besides, Chinese goods are 50% of the American market of forged goods, another 25% are Taiwanese products.
China and Russia are among top violators of software copyright. In the whole, 42% of all programs installed all over the world are pirate, and this figure reaches 90% in the most adverse countries. These two countries lead in underground CD production, illegal turnover amounted to 4,6 billion of USD in 2003.
ICC intelligence service officers say that E-trade is a key factor in pirate market increase. This issue is covered in a currently elaborated UN convention on electronic trade, publication of which was scheduled for May. This base for harmonization of national legisltions will be also important for future trading rules in the Russian segment of the Internet.
Representatives of American industry and Hollywood put in a complaint to US Congress blaming Russia, China and a number of other states for undrmining their business. President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Jack Valenti testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the spread of video and DVD piracy in countries such as Russia, China, Brazil, Pakistan and several others. Russia and China were named the worst offenders.
Speaking of Russia Valenti did note the efforts of the Russian government which has carried out copyright legislation reform and increased enforcement efforts. But despite the government's efforts the number of pirated products as well as their export to CIS and Eastern European countries continues to go unchecked. MPAA president accused "organized criminal groups" of controlling most of the manufacture and distribution of pirated disks. In his words "the criminal groups running piracy operations are well-funded and highly organized, and piracy is acknowledged by everyone to be one of the most profitable criminal businesses in Russia".
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