IIPA, International Privacy Report, China online and mobile piracy, Russia piracy rampant, Neville L. Johnson, Johnson & Johnson LLP, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, Intellectual Property Law (04-10-08)

IIPA, International Privacy Report, China online and mobile piracy, Russia piracy rampant, Neville L. Johnson, Johnson & Johnson LLP, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, Intellectual Property Law

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The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) – which comprises the seven largest IP interest groups in the United States, including the Association of American Publishers, the Entertainment Software Association, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America – has issued its latest report on piracy and market access problems. The good news is that gross domestic product is 6.48% of the US economy, growing at 7% per year, which is twice the average. Core compensation for the average copyright industry worker in 2005 was $66,389, a 40% premium above the US average compensation level. However, the bad news is that piracy continues to be rampant. The report has now been forwarded to US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

The report rounds up the usual suspects, describing how China’s enforcement actions have so far had little deterrent effect:

“Online and mobile piracy have become huge problems in China, with the internet connected population having reached 210 million at the end of 2007, and with over 500 million mobile devices in the marketplace.”

Russia is the worst offender, with piracy rates at 70% in some sectors, although some progress is being made. Interestingly, Canada joins the IIPA’s watch list (the second highest level of monitoring) for not having taken meaningful steps to modernize its copyright laws (see “Government steps back from copyright reforms after widespread protests”). Other new additions to the watch list include Greece, Israel, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. Piracy also remains a problem in Argentina, Chile, India, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Ukraine.

The report is neither a surprise nor a wake-up call. Piracy has long been the bane of those who sell intellectual property. At the recent World Intellectual Property Organization/International Confederation of Society of Authors and Composers meeting at Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, the cognoscenti and leaders in copyright industries, especially those involved in collecting royalties, could not come to any agreement as to the best ways to monetize (or in some way collect from) those who would otherwise engage in piracy. It is a massive problem in the United States, with some reports that up to 95% (and at least 50%) of all music on the web is pirated. One suggestion is to place a levy on all internet service providers (ISPs) and hardware manufacturers, and then divide the resulting monies between rights holders. However, this controversial suggestion has been rejected by ISPs and manufacturers, which understandably prefer to set their own pricing.

In short, due to market forces (ie, a world population that scoffs at copyright law and engages in piracy) the debate about increasing the viability of alternative methods of collecting income from online distribution looks set to continue for some time to come.

Neville L Johnson, Johnson & Johnson LLP, Los Angeles
  • www.worldmedialawreport.com World Media Law Report - Daily email service that provides Newsletter Updates on copyright developments from over 50 jurisdictions and iswritten by a panel of 120 leading copyright lawyers from both national and international law firms specifically for senior lawyers in industry and private practice, as well as government and regulatory officials.
  • www.wipo.int The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - Specialized agency of the United Nations headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and established by the WIPO Convention in 1967, dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.
    Tags: WIPO, OMPI, World Intellectual Property Organization, patents, marks, trademarks, brands, trade names, inventions, industrial designs, geographical indications, appellations of origin, origins of source, copyright, related rights, broadcasting rights, piracy, counterfeiting, arbitration, mediation, cyber squatting, domain names, traditional knowledge, biotechnology, biodiversity, electronic commerce, e-commerce, law, intellectual property, intellectual property protection, industrial property
  • www.iipa.com  International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) - Private sector coalition formed in 1984 to represent the U.S. copyright-based industries.
    Tags: Copyright, intellectual property, international intellectual property, international intellectual property alliance, copyright piracy, videogames, films, movies, motion pictures, videos, music, sound recordings, books, journals, entertainment software, trade association, wto, nafta, apec, ftaa, cbi, gsp, wipo, world intellectual property organization, atpa, wipo copyright treaty, wipo performances and phonograms treaty, wppt, fta, niplecc, atpdea, cbera, cbtpa, trade tools, agoa, free trade area of the americas, free trade, world trade Special 301, ecommerce, e-commerce, trips agreement, free trade agreement, FTA, international copyright, intellectual property rights, IPR, copyright industries, wto trips agreement, copyright alliance, copyright coalition, digital economy, internet, internet priacy
  • www.publishers.org Association of American Publishers (AAP) - principal trade association of the book publishing industry with some 260 members located throughout the United States
    Tags: Association of American Publishers, AAP, publishers, publishing, books, copyright, reading, literacy, school publishing, trade publishing, scholarly publishing, copyright protection, WIPO
  • www.theesa.com The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) - Anti-Piracy Program objective is to attack and reduce global entertainment software piracy, estimated to cost the U.S. entertainment software industry billions of dollars every year.
  • www.mpaa.org Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) - Top prioritiy is to protect the copyrights held by its member companies which frequently involves litigation against persons who have violated members' copyrights or have assisted others to violate those rights.
  • www.riaa.com Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) - Trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists. Members are the record companies that comprise the most vibrant national music industry in the world and create, manufacture andor distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States. The RIAA® also certifies Gold®, Platinum®, Multi-Platinum™, and Diamond sales awards, as well as Los Premios De Oro y Platino™, an award celebrating Latin music sales.
  • Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy - The 2006 Report, by Stephen E. Siwek, Economists Incorporated, prepared for the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) - Stephen E. Siwek, Principal, Economists Incorporated, 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036, www.ei.com, co-author of International Trade in Computer Software (Quorum Books, 1993) and International Trade in Films and Television Programs (American Enterprise InstituteBallinger Publishing Company, 1988) is the principal author of ten prior reports on the economic contributions of the U.S. copyright industries to the U.S. economy. ISBN 978-0-9634708-7-4
    2006 Report References:
    • Deutsche Bank Research, "Global Software Market to Reach 214.8 Billion Euros in 2006, 270 Billion in 2008," IT Facts, 6/28/05. See also Deutsche Bank Research, "Economics," Vol. No. 50, April 22, 2005.
    • Howells, Thomas F., Barefoot, Kevin, B., "Annual Industry Accounts: Advanced Estimates for 2005," May 2006.
    • International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), The Recording Industry: World Sales – 2005.
    • Motion Picture Association of America, Total International All Media Revenue- MPA Member Companies Only, 2004 and 2005.
    • President’s Council of Economic Advisors, 2005 Economic Report of the President (Government Printing Office, 2005).
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, "Gross Domestic Product-by-Industry," 1999-2004, www.bea.gov/bea/industry/gpotables.
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, "Annual Revision of Monthly Retail and Food Services," 1992-2005.
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, "2004 Service Annual Survey" (various service industries).
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Revisions of Quarterly Services Estimates: Fourth Quarter 2003 through Fourth Quarter 2005, Current Business Reports (April 2006).
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, "Industry Statistics, 2002 Economic Census," www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/industry/.
    • U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, "Industry Statistics Sampler," 2002 Economic Census, Industry Series (various industries).
    • U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Current Employment Statistics, data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/Survey/OutputServlet.
    • World Intellectual Property Organization, Guide on Surveying the Economic Contribution of the Copyright-Based Industries, WIPO Publication No. 893(E) (2003).