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13 Countries On US "Priority Watch List" For Copyright Piracy
hapworth writes "The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has submitted a report on the top 40 countries guilty of piracy to The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which is preparing for its annual 'Special 301' report. This report describes the adequacy and effectiveness of US trading partners' protection of intellectual property rights. Among the 40 countries suggested by the IIPA for the watch list, 13 were recommended for placement on the USTR's 'Priority Watch List.' These countries include Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Spain, Ukraine, and Vietnam. While previous reports have focused on physical piracy, this year's emphasizes cracking down on online piracy."
Phoque you eh?
I remember watching a show on knock-off goods sold in China. Some spokesman for Gucci was talking about how they recently made a bust on counterfeit goods and how they potentially earned the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. I couldn't help but laugh at how out-of-touch this dumb-ass was. Does he think honestly think that the country's peasants (who make a big deal out of eating steak with their rice) would save up to buy an authentic Gucci handbag? Similarly, how fucking stupid do you have to be to think that you can stop them from saving money on software. Because that's how they look at it. There are two alternatives in their eyes: free pirated software, and free non-pirated software. No one is going to give two shits about Microsoft's poor employees.
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The US is pointing out countries that are most likely consume English content and don't 100% accept US international copyright laws. Mind how I prefixed international copyright laws with US because they are US laws forced on other countries.
Once you start despising the jerks, you become one.
Not a single fuck was given.
I'm personally proud to see that my country is on the copyright watch list of a country with one of the most broken copyright laws in the world.
Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
I pay a levy to the artists for the privilege of music piracy. Whether the artists get the money after wards, not my problem. Thank you, come again.
If you want to help stop piracy only download CC licensed music from site like http://www.ektoplazm.com/
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
An accurate list of piracy must consider theft from the public domain, and robbing future generations of freedom to use their cultural heritage as they see fit.
The USA is #1 on that list.
To get off that list, the US should extradite all MPAA and RIAA to the Hague, as well as those U.S. Congressmen and Presidents who bought by copyright extremists.
Why isn't the US on this list?
Come on, lads, we're not trying hard enough!
USA! USA!
You are welcome on my lawn.
If the author of TFA had bothered to do any of his own independent research, he would have found that ISOhunt is *NOT* a cyberlocker, but a specialized search engine. Torrents != file storage.
The only reason us Canadians made the list is because of the previously mentioned reasons of our lack of DMCA-style legislation, and our "copyright" levy on digital media, which allows us far more fair-use of our purchased digital wares than the country that purports to allow fair use.
The U.S. can "Special 301" us all they want, but with our current government (what with Minister Tony Clement siding with consumers on denying Usage-Based Billing for wholesale accounts, and examining the larger UBB issue for consumer accounts), and the many public hearings on our "DMCA" legislation, I don't think the US FTR is going to hold much sway over our internal priorities.
Professor Michael Geist and Openmedia.CA FTW! :-)
"Kinky sex involves the use of duck feathers. Perverted sex involves the whole duck." - Lewis Grizzard
The USTR has stated time and again why we are on this list. It comes down to the business laws of Canada. When you pay for something, you get something in return. That thing in return is either a product, a license, or in some very controlled circumstances a limited license which is what renting falls under.
Under Canadian law when you buy a product, you can do anything you want with it and cannot be restricted by the creator except to void the warranty, though there are some restrictions there as well. If you sell a license to something, then you can put restrictions on how that license can be used, to an extent. When you give something, you have to get something in return. This giving and getting does not have to involve currency.
The CMPDA and CRIA had movies and music classified as licenses instead of as a product. This allowed them to restricts you from public showings or broadcast of their media. You do not own the media, you own a license to that performance. It doesn't matter how you got that performance, thus why downloading content isn't illegal in Canada. It is only illegal if you watch, or listen to something you don't have a license for. If you download something you don't have a license for and use it, that is illegal.
This does not fit the US laws very well, as right now if you "buy" a DVD in stores in the US, you do not own the media, or have the right to view what you just bought. You have paid for nothing. There is only the possibility that the MPAA will allow you to watch that video. They have no obligation to allow you to watch what you paid for, they can actually say, no, we will not allow you to watch that and it is then illegal for you to watch it, and they don't have to reimburse you.
That is illegal in Canada and always will be as giving and receiving are part of the fundamental laws in Canada that all business law is predicated on. Furthermore, our founders made it unconstitutional for any future government to try to change this and any law passed should be tossed out by the courts.
Basically the US has a problem with our laws that require getting something when you give something.
Ever wondered why when you "win" a contest you have to answer a stupidly easy skill testing question in Canada? It is because that skill testing questing counts as a form of work that you are giving, to receive what ever the prize is.
Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
Because our current laws and privacy regulations don't allow the MPAA and RIAA to send their jackbooted hire-a-thugs across the border to bother us.
The US lawmakers and lobbyists (one in the same, really) are trying to force their shit down our throat.
Trolling is a art,