Stop Being Poor: U.S. Piracy Watch List Hits a New Low With 2012 Report

An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. Trade Representative released its annual Special 301 Report yesterday, unsurprisingly including Canada on the Priority Watch list. While inclusion on the list is designed to generate embarrassment on target countries, Michael Geist explains why this year's report should elicit outrage. Not only is the report lacking in objective analysis, it targets some of the world's poorest countries with no evidence of legal inadequacies and picks fights with any country that dare adopt a contrary view on intellectual property issues."

Comments

US, nobody gives a shit

[Kajas]

I live in Asia. Our entertainment is going out with people and socializing. We like that. Live music is better than listening to some stupid pop artists from your cd's. Bands at the restaurants and bars occasionally play covers of those over here, but you are a failing country that is both anti-social and has no understanding of what products are actually worth to pay for. You are fighting a fight that you cannot win.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[PPH]

We can't do that here in the USA. They keep the noise^H^H^H^H^Hmusic in bars cranked up so loud you can't carry on a conversation. Not just bars. Even the local Starbucks plays their Muzak far too loud to talk quietly, or even read without being distracted.

But then if they turned down the music, you'd realize how little people actually have to say.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[Kajas]

Maybe the answer is to rethink what is good entertainment. I've always had much better time when spending time out with friends or family while there might be some band playing. It doesn't even matter that much who they are. I do understand that it might matter more when staying alone at home and trying to listen to some music, but seriously, just go out and enjoy it with other people - it's much better.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[Dyinobal]

,p>While I don't really disagree with the last statement you make to assert that America's don't have live music or don't prefer it to CDs by some pop artist is silly.

What you're seeing here really is more of a disconnect between the Government and the people it is suppose to represent. The american government at this point is pretty much entirely owned by various corporations and private interests that don't represent the thoughts and will of the american people.

I'm pretty fed up with it and I want things to change but I really don't see what I can do, the FBI is busy trying to turn people into terrorists who are unhappy with the way the government is representing them. It doesn't matter if I vote for the right or left any politician I vote for is owned by someone, and most if not all the third party candidates are dubious or likely to be subverted the moment they become any more than 'third party' and or get seen as a threat to the status quo.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[InvisibleClergy]

The point is that when people are listening to CDs or MP3s, they're not JUST listening to them. They're cleaning, playing video games, exercising, driving, or any one of a multitude of activities which don't require 100% of your ears. Hell, I've listened to music while working at a call center before. 99% of situations in which people would have music are not situations in which live music is applicable.

tl;dr: You trollin'.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[letherial]

Claiming one country should forgo their culture because you said yours is better is not a very good argument. Maybe some people dont want to go out and prefer to stay home and listen to music, is there is something wrong with that? while i am not bashing your culture, i think its great if you have more community based entertainment...but USA is different for a variety of reasons and it would be easier to change the record companys then it would be to change an entire culture.

Its funny, most the time its Americans are being accused of the very same thing your doing.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[royallthefourth]

I'm pretty fed up with it and I want things to change but I really don't see what I can do

Organize.

There are probably people near you who are organizing political events that work for real people rather than the powers that be. Seek them out.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[Anonymous Coward]

| What you're seeing here really is more of a disconnect between the Government and the people it is suppose to represent

Umm, you and I aren't the American people. We' don't have the money. We don't count. Real American people number less than 1 million, out of the 300 million inhabitants of America. The rest of us live in 'Murica, are a nuisance to real Americans, and are expendable.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[tiptone]

+1 OP clearly doesn't know what ASCAP is, and is so very clearly talking out his/her ass. Venue owners pay ASCAP for the right to perform copyrighted works in their venue (radio, jukebox, cover band, etc. it's all the same).

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[amicusNYCL]

I talk about bands being sued for playing cover songs, and you send a link about ASCAP suing a bar over its jukebox. A bar and a jukebox is not a band. I do see a few examples of ASCAP suing bars for allowing bands to play "unlicensed" covers, but I don't see anyone suing the actual bands.

Also, apparently there's an all-female cover band called Lez Zeppelin.

It's not illegal for a band to cover a song, that is allowed under fair use. It may be illegal for the band to try and profit from that though, but again, I can't find instances of a band being sued over it.

Re:US, nobody gives a shit

[Luckyo]

Look, look! These wannabees who live in a different place like music that I don't like!

Canada should be embarrassed

[Das Auge]

Canada should be embarrassed. I mean, they have some of the best privacy laws of any country.

On a related note, as an American, could I borrow some?

Re:Canada should be embarrassed

[BagOBones]

We are, the only reason we are on the list is to pressure out government to implement a DMCA type law.

ip enforcement, not feeding hungry people

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, so all of you impoverished nations... your people might be poor and starving, but don't even think for a minute about feeding them. Take that money you would have fed hungry children with and step up your IP policing, because your laws are good, you are just wasting money you could use for more enforcement in all of the wrong places, like feeding your people.

Re:Ignore it

[NoNonAlphaCharsHere]

Well, while you're ignoring it, the politicians will be citing it for why we more and tougher IP legislation, both at home and abroad.

Re:Ignore it

[robot256]

You may ignore it if you wish, but do so at your peril. This report is a window into the minds of the politicians and bureaucrats who run our country and think they run the world. We ought to be using this to our advantage, to stir up pushback from other countries and put the bastards on the defensive. They're trying to bully the rest of the world into paying up--the only way to deal with a bully is to stand up for yourself and fight back.

put a Democrat in the White House in 2012

[khipu]

Democrats are concerned with civil liberties and the rights of the individual. We need change! Oh, wait...

Best part ...

[gstoddart]

This is the best part:

The USTR report also confirms the Canadian government's view that the Special 301 exercise produces little more than a lobbying document on behalf of U.S. industry. The Canadian position, as described to a House of Commons committee in 2007 (and repeated regularly in internal government documents):

In regard to the watch list, Canada does not recognize the 301 watch list process. It basically lacks reliable and objective analysis. It's driven entirely by U.S. industry. We have repeatedly raised this issue of the lack of objective analysis in the 301 watch list process with our U.S. counterparts.

Which basically means the people writing this report are well known shills, who are predisposed to write something which is in favor of what the content industry wants.

Glad to see these guys being told to bugger off if they don't have any facts. Far too much of American policy is dictated by lobbyists.

Constantly listening to the content industry in the US bleating that Canada is a horrible evil country of people who violate copyrights gets tedious.

Enemy #1

[msobkow]

The US has declared wars on drugs, terrorism, copyright violations, crackers, and a whole host of other things.

In doing so they've declared "war" on pretty much every nation in the world, including the very ones that they claim are friends and allies.

So what can we conclude?

The US is Enemy #1 to the world.

Re:Enemy #1

[CanHasDIY]

The US government has declared wars on drugs, terrorism, copyright violations, crackers, and a whole host of other things.

In doing so they've declared "war" on pretty much every nation in the world, including the very ones that they claim are friends and allies.

So what can we conclude?

The US government is Enemy #1 to the world.

FTFY.

Re:Enemy #1

[msobkow]

The government is elected by the people.

Stop pretending it's not your fault. You, the people, are the ones who put up with their schite.

Re:Disappointment

[Hatta]

Really? Does his IP maximalism really come close to his support for the NDAA? His assassination of US citizens and flagrant violation of the War Powers Act? His crack down on government whistle blowers (more whistle blowers prosecuted than all previous presidents combined)? His crack down on legal medical marijuana dispensaries despite his promise to respect states rights on the issue? His failure to prosecute anyone for the 2008 financial crisis?

IP maximalism is bad, but it's WAY down on the list of grievences against Barack Obama.

Re:Disappointment

[cpu6502]

Just one?

Not his involving Americans in two new wars (Yemen and Libya) without permission of the People in Congress? Not his insistence that Congress add 2 lines to the NDAA to let him imprison americans without a trial? Not his assassination of 3 american citizens (including a 16 year old child) w/o giving them a constitutional a right to trial? Not his raising the national debt at twice the rate of George "duh" Bush? I would be HAPPY if Obama's only flaw was signing ACTA/supporting SOPA.