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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."
Its own country isnt on it?
In my country Windows is counted among free software, you mad?
Phoque you eh?
The summary lists 12 of the 13, for those who don't want to RTFA, #13 is Thailand.
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
According to the BSA, the "dollar losses" right here in the U.S. are highest overall. Why didn't we make it on to our own list?
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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In related news, 13 countries have named the US when asked which country's IP laws they don't give a shit about.
What, no Italy?
I'm sincerely shocked.
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.
Copyright enforcement (to the level that US corporations are happy with) is costly in many ways. Intelligence is needed for detecting infringements, police is needed for raiding suspects and forensics, and finally judges and prosecutors are needed for each infringement case.
In developing world nations like mine (Argentina), stronger copyright laws are a total waste of taxpayers money that will only benefits foreign media producers.
Added to that, we are already short on policemen and judges (which are already underpaid) , so even if laws such as these were to pass, there would simply not be enough human resources to enforce them. Plain and simple.
The reason why watch lists such as these exist is because media lobbysts realize that countries like mine are no way as poor as, say, Nigeria, so they want a share of the pie, and press the US government to impose trade sanctions o us, while they couldn't care less what our economic and social situation is.
Not a single fuck was given.
... on their own list?
"Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
as they think it is crap to worry about the profits of corporations.
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*
It's just hard to trust countries that sell milk in a plastic bag.
I downloaded enough stuff to put us over the top. Do I need to step it up?
Funny, I haven't seen any bazaars filled with $1 DVDs around here, which is the sort of thing that characterizes the rest of the entries on the list (except possibly Spain).
We have a cable / satellite duopoly for broadcast TV (nobody uses free OTA here; reception is nonexistent for most) that extracts $80-100/month out of almost every Canadian household - the same duopoly that supplies broadband internet to 90% of the population. Our communications regulator is a puppet of said duopoly: it recently approved regulations that dictate that nobody may offer better or cheaper internet service than the incumbents. We have the most expensive broadband and cellular in the developed world, and it's getting more expensive rather than less: the duopoly has started charging punitive rates for overages above caps that are set so low as to make streaming video services impossible to use.
What more does the USTR want? What more does it demand that Canada do to support the content industry's bottom line? Why are American special interests so butthurt over the state of the Canadian content market?
I think I know: no private citizen has gone before a court in this country over a copyright violation. Our court system doesn't permit the procedural tricks that allow thousands of people of unknown identity to be sued. Hollywood can't stand this.
Did you ever think that in the US, many are overpaid? What happened with bettering oneself, instead of relying on unions to prop up salaries? At the rate things are going, the US is going to price themselves out of all exports. Who ever heard of paying bus drivers more than developers? Well in the US, this is normal. Here is another thought, did you ever wonder what would happen if China called in its loans to the US? And more jobs in the US? Har, that's a joke. who could afford anything made in the US? Not even your average citizen could afford that. Educate yourself.
Really? Worthy of some kind of priority piracy watchlist? Canada? I guess the Carebears are on a priority terrorism watchlist.
Sounds good to me. Could you kindly stop importing oil, electrical power and comedians from Canada?
Oh and kindly stop waving your wee-wee over my cornflakes bowl.
In times of trouble, the smell of frying onions usually gives confidence and comfort.
The perpetual financial crisis in this country along with the lack of moral condemnation makes it a haven of piracy. I'd say that 90 % of desktop computers have ilegal windows and those include many medium-sized companies and goverment instituitons. Those that pay liscenses basically do it in response to fines from possible inspections (or use Linux).
There's a 4 to 1 relation between the US dollar and the Argentinian Peso and the average citizen earns much less than first world countries. The cost of life is permanently increasing.
This is the best example. It's the iconic webpage in Argentina for a lot of things and one of those things is file sharing. Everyone who needs certain software knows that the fastest way of getting access to it will probably be to search on that site. People compete for points in a very well thought social system (it includes games and more). Normal people get sucked into this "reputation" thing and become average posters.
Taringa, in essence, doesn't do anything ilegal because it only has links to hosting sites.
From the PDF
In a country of political turmoil and widespread corruption online piracy is not an issue. Specially when Argentina doesn't have many affected companies or services.
Regarding the priority actions. Their goals are unrealistic. Many people are hungry and below the line of poverty. If the US wants to provide aid for the goverment, humanitarian needs are closer to what the goverment might look at.
If they think that pressuring Argentina with bonuses or threats is going to affect this particular line of goverment, they are blatantly wrong. Relations with the US over economy matters are not good after many years of struggles with the International Monetary Fund.
Tl,DR: Argentinians, used to pay overpriced goods with their low wages don't see any moral problem getting things they'd probably wouldn't be able to have if they didn't resort to piracy and, besides, everyone else does it.
Arg Gov won't budge in an election year to the likes of USA when there has been no evidence in the past years that this was beneficial (ie: IMF regulations)
forgive the typos and related grammatical horrors. It's late.
"Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world. " - Asimov.
That will never happen as long as the president of Wal-Mart has more REAL power than the president in Washington.
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.
Well, nothing would happen. Nobody is out there to enforce the U.S. paying back those loans. World banking organizations might get pissed off, and some of China's allies might as well, but nobody is going to do anything about it. Hell, if the U.S. wanted to throw it's diplomatic relations to the wind (or if China and the U.S. goes to war), it'd be really easy for the U.S. to say, "we aren't paying those loans back. suck it."
while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
This should be the first time Colombia is not in a blacklist made by the US
Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
There are PDFs with the report of each country:
Canada: http://www.iipa.com/rbc/2011/2011SPEC301CANADA.pdf
Taken from: http://www.iipa.com/2011_SPEC301_TOC.htm
Do not forget to read the Priority Recommendations Section.
"Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world. " - Asimov.
I ignore the US on these and many world issues, because they only complain when Oil or money is involved, and only pass laws that increase profit for the few.
Not true; those issues--and complaining, for that matter--just get more press. We put out a watch list for human trafficking, too, as part of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. (Google it, or look at River of Innocents for a good primer on the issue).
The US does care about money and oil, of course--money and oil pay for everything and make everything work, and we want things to work and influential donors care about those things, so so does the government. But those aren't the only things we care about. The Global Health Initiatives, for example, have tremendously increased the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people, yet they rarely make it into the news. For some reason it's not as sexy to prevent Malaria as it is to do another story on Charlie Sheen.
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
Well, nothing would happen. Nobody is out there to enforce the U.S. paying back those loans. World banking organizations might get pissed off, and some of China's allies might as well, but nobody is going to do anything about it. Hell, if the U.S. wanted to throw it's diplomatic relations to the wind (or if China and the U.S. goes to war), it'd be really easy for the U.S. to say, "we aren't paying those loans back. suck it."
You really think that foreign debts are like your mortgage? Downgrade the credit rating for US and nobody will offer money to US: good luck with the trade and budget deficit US is running, hope you can be self-sustaining in a short time otherwise you'll put the trucks on hold and transport whatever food you can by horse carriage.
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
It seems to be happening all over the internet and in courtrooms. I think something big is brewing. There is more attention than ever on piracy, with publishers blaming everything on pirates, and pirates blaming everything on publishers.
There may be something amiss with our current laws, seeing as how everyone is upset about them on both sides of the argument. I have a feeling the anti-piracy crowd isn't going to get what they want just because of the sheer numbers of people who are either apathetic about the issue or just like getting free stuff without going to prison for it.
It's like Prohibition. When you have a couple hundred million people engaged in an activity that they have no moral problem with, they're going to obtain what they want regardless of the law. You can't imprison everyone (at least, not without a police state), and you can't change legislate someone's morality.
They anti-piracy groups do have money though, and it's not secret that money buys you laws in the United States, so they may be able swing the lawmakers in their favor. They are the benefactors of piracy prohibition. Much like the mafia families who derived a good chunk of their fortunes from selling a product at a high price, they too have their prices protected by government intervention, just from a different angle.
The IIPA is NOT the US Government. It's a private organization, hence the title of the story is misleading.
A quote from their website: "IIPA is a private sector coalition, formed in 1984, of trade associations representing U.S. copyright-based industries..."
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
Actually we used to be on that list every year ;) That changed when the US FTA came in a few years ago. One of the things the FTA did was introduce certain aspects of US copyright law into Australia. And since then we've been absent from the list.
Of course, bundling in these evil US IP laws was a travesty. But it was a non-negotiable requirement from the US' point of view, driven mostly by the pharmaceutical companies (you can bet the fact we have universal health care with a cap of $22.50 on prescription drugs under the PBS pisses them off no end), and media companies. It's a real shame because the FTA isn't all a bad news story - it has benefitted quite a few exporters and importers in both countries. However we had to sell a bit of our soul (in the form of our less restrictive IP laws) in order to get it.
Actually, in many ways we have stronger copyright laws in Canada than the US does, according to copyright expert Harold Knopf. The US media companies are just pushing for ever more draconian laws.
I think the 13 countries on the Special 301 list should educate their population about (fake FRN = pirated) dollars and place all US government employees, including vacationers, on a watch list.
They get to pirate quality US music while all we can pirate back is Justin Bieber and Celine Dion!
Drugs are covered by patents and at the end of the day were excluded from the FTA precisely because any Aussie government that dismantled the PBS to please the US would be out on it's ear come election time. To the non-Aussies who don't know what the PBS is; it's a government scheme that ensures nobody pays more than (IIRC) $1200 a year for prescription medicine, it's been in effect since the 1950's and promotes the use of generics over brand name drugs.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
One of the best things about living in Australia is we're so off the world political map that it is like its own semitransparent bubble of isolation. I can personally pirate all I need to and not worry about any repercussions as the big leagues just don't care about our poisonous-animal-and-cute-fuzzy-rabbit infested desert of an island.
That being said, I have no problem with personal piracy. I don't justify it, I don't say that it's a victimless crime, I don't make roundabout logic that say the 'victims' are actually getting a backhanded profit. I just don't care about the victims.
Why should I, Joe Blog, computer repair shop 40 thousand dollar a year worker, care about the woes and tribulations about a person who makes millions of a year? Am I really going to cry a river when their 15 million annual income drops to 13 million? Do I care if I pirate an enormously successful game? "But what about the crushingly hard worked game developers who toil under their publisher's whips?" Why should I care? They can be lucky to get a 5 grand bonus on a successful game, maybe a millionth of the profit will ever touch their carpel-tunneled claws. Their problem is they need a union.
There is really only one thing that I detest and that is when money is torn out of the indie and independent artists. I spent 89 dollars on the humble indie bundle (which, by the way, is the average retail price of australian games for no arbitrary reason given the dollar parity). I pay to go see the new bands show up at the local pub. I loved seeing Jonathan Coulton live during my visit to the US. If you want to make an impact with piracy, don't throw a fit because the government is in the Mafiaa's pocket, do what you can to avoid them and then support the people who really deserve it.
I'm frankly appalled at the lack of effort from the Dutch. Must try harder.
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.
This list unfairly tarnishes Poland's reputation - by omission. Seriously, folks in my office are current with all the series from US cable tv's. We demand recognition!
The thing is, they hold an extremely great amount of US federal treasury bonds. If the US get uppity about honoring that debt (such as declaring parts of it void based on the verdict of its own courts), then they are pissing off a very powerful creditor.
I was thinking the same... But why Canada?
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
Even the USA themselves freely admit that this list is pure, grade A bullshit.
If you _have_ to accept the yearly Special 301 story, at least make sure it's one pointing this out and moking the practice properly.
This is the list made by the lobyist to flag "rogue countries". Is a political list. Is the way to tell these countries "We don't like your laws".
Well.. *I* don't like YOUR laws USA. Maybe you sould change a system that give more voice to the people with the dollars than the people than vote!? I am going to put USA on a list too.
-Woof woof woof!
Not going to bother to look up your other claims... but your final one about the STQ is certianly wrong.
The reason the STQ is required under the criminal code has nothing to do with making the winner of a prize "do work". It is so that companies can turn contests a game of skill.
Games of skill and games of chance are treated differently under the criminal code, with games of chance falling under provincial gaming regulations, games of skill or of mixed chance and skill are not.
It has nothing to do with exchange of work for services.
Actually, you should be glad to be on the list: it means that have not yet surrendered all your freedom to the big entertainment industry.
From my strictly personal point of view, this list is of little importance (actually no importance at all). At least until the US cleans up it's act.
Let me explain: at the moment US copyright laws demand that you register your work with some federal agency (or similar), if you want to have a decent chance of getting any money should someone inside the USA infringe on your copyright. This is all fine and well. EXCEPT for people who live and work outside the USA! I see no reason why I, neither living nor working in USA, should have to pay the USA money to get the same level of protection for my work that inhabitants of the USA get for free in my country.
Just to prove my point: use Google to search for a picture with the description "footprints in the snow". Add "site:wordpress.com" to narrow the search. One of the pictures in the result is mine (currently picture number six on page two). Now change the search to "footprints snow mentor". You will get another result, but one with my picture on it, in a cropped version (currently number one in the results). This is not hosted on any server where I have put it, and it is used as decoration on a website used to advertise the services sold by an individual (or small company). The way the law seems to work I cannot get this particular individual to either stop using my image or pay me for its use. (I have contacted Apple, who seem to own the server the offending webpage is located on, with little result).
Therefore, as long as the USA expects foreign residents to pay for the protection afforded for free to "americans" in other countries, the USA is not credible in matters of copyright infringement.
Note to readers: although I use myself as an example here, I very much doubt I am the only one in similar circumstances. Further: I have nothing against Google indexing my websites, no matter where they are hosted. I have nothing against Google making and serving thumbnails of my pictures. It is when my pictures are used to advertise the products/services of other people/companies I think I should be payed.
Calling on all Australians to work extra hard over the coming months to make the list for 2012. Damn those Canadians. Even the Spaniards beat us.
All the cyber locker sites exist because email doesn't permit large enough attachments. There are numerous small businesses that use cyber lockers to communicate with their clients, sub contractors, etc. The war on cyber lockers is a war on small, not the fight against piracy.
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
not this again. Is the war on drugs over? Or the war in Afghanistan? Will there be a "war on piracy", the copyright kind? Should everybody stock up on pictures of Betty Boop (oh, wait, that one has expired, so it's legal, right?)
You can't handle the truth.
Which country would that be? I still haven't found a store that would install Linux on a computer.
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
Maybe you should adopt the MAFIAA business model, and sue the internet for all the revenue you've lost because people don't buy your CD's anymore.
PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
I live in Argentina. There are treaties about mutual IP protection with the US. That means that (at least in form) we care about US' copyright holders and the US cares about ours. There's an agency called "Legal Software". Thay have te authority to inspect business' PCs, ask you for the licenses of whatever software they find. If you don't have it, they fine you and make you pay for the license. It's like a fiscal audit, in that respect.
This piece of legislation was passed during the 90's when we had a right-winged goverment which was desperate to please the US. Large enterprises have legally bought software, the others mostly not.
Do you want to know something funny? For a lot of tax-related and personal accounting operations you need to download and use software provided by the AFIP - that is an agency equal to US' IRS. That software only works under Windows. Funny, right?
Perhaps I'm trolling, perhaps I'm not.
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,
Does ANY body pay any attention to this anymore. Its been a joke for years. Canada has been on the list for years. The USA is the worst offender, yet not counted on its own list. The entire purpose is to try and throw fodder on the fire to introduce insane US friendly copyright law in Canada and others, mostly at the behest of the US media which have lobbyists and US politicians in their pockets.
I will NEVER vote for any government that supports this. Not even looking at the details of copyright, this is another country, being overly influenced by corporations and greed, trying to influence law in my country and infringing on our national sovereignty.
You can take you list and shove it. This type of action is not endearing your largest trading partner.
I mean there was a scandal up here, where it was found that the reports surrounding piracy, the government recommendations, AND the actual bill itself was largely authored, word for word, by the US media industry. I mean if it wasn't so sad it would be ironic (in that they copied the copyright material).
I will not shed one single tear for those companies, they can take off eh?
These are the best countries in which to go shopping for bootleg CDs and DVDs? Thanks for the free advertising!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
As a proud American citizen, this list makes me want to move to Canada....
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
At least here in Canada we were lucky enough that when our government sold us out, I mean signed the free trade agreement with the States it was before the internet so IP laws weren't even considered.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
The insolence of these private whores are mind boggling. 'Watch' China ? the country which practically OWNS the united states government debt, because these private interests in america, the very ones which are demanding government to 'watch' for piracy, are not paying taxes and instead enjoying tax breaks at the expense of people ?
China owns up to 1 TRILLION dollars in u.s. debt. thats 1 trillion. not billion.
this debt will need to be paid. if it is not paid, then it will make u.s. govt. bonds practically worthless, and make u.s. unable to get any funding. if, china sells these before their time is mature, and en masse, this will again kill u.s. govt debt capability. it will also kill $ in international market.
but these whores, want u.s. to watch china, the practical owner of the government.
how. and with what.
im not even touching the subject of russia. a country which is run by post-soviet mafia. the country which no such whores perpetrating private interests from america has been able to infiltrate and take over. (actually that constitutes majority of the friction in between u.s. and russia and china governments. u.s. corps want to turn those countries into whores like they did to us govt, through proxies. they dont let it.)
really im wondering with what this 'watching' china, russia, will happen. what kind of resources, bargaining power will be used. it is like trying to practically play tough against your landlord.
Read radical news here
It took the USA about 100 years to join the Berne Convention, and now the terms and conditions of treaties like TRIPS and WIPO is basically written by American corporations, for American corporations. Why should any work continue to be copyrighted for 99 years after the death of its creator? Whom, other than idle heirs and immortal corporations, does this benefit?
This is very correct. It surprises me that citizens in the US have no idea how much trouble they are in. As more of the government and its policies are controlled by the few with all dollars, it only brings the country closer and closer to complete collapse. These few do not care at all, if half of you all suffer abject poverty and ill health, as long as they can keep making money.
In the UK you can buy yearly prepaid prescription cards for about £100,
In England you can; In Wales and (shortly) Scotland there is no charge for prescription medicine - we take 'free at the point of use' to mean what it says.
[ ]Half Empty [ ]Half Full [x]Twice as big as it needs to be
There were also stores where you could fill up your mp3 player with thousands of popular songs for just a few dollars.
While I'm not a fan of MPAA or RIAA and etc., there is a legitimate cost associated with shooting a film, and I think it's wrong to make a profit from selling unauthorized copies that the studio will never see a cent from. Same goes for recording a track (though I sometimes download an "extended trial version" of a song myself). ;)