According to BusinessWeek today, there is a push from powerful lobbyists such as the Motion Picture Association to have Congress create a position for called an Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative. This position would entail cracking down on piracy that the lobbyists state are eating their substantial revenues.
Another reason for this push may be the lack of cohesion in intellectual property enforcement. It seems that corporate America is getting frustrated with the lack of consistency with intellectual property protection. Here is an excerpt of the article:
" Legislators say existing efforts to thwart IP theft fall short. 'The lack of coordination between the federal agencies seems to be one of the biggest hurdles we face,' Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said at a June 17 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on strengthening protection of intellectual property. 'Enforcement, protection of these rights is too important to be piecemeal.'
You can check out the rest of the article here:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080622_031095.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_news+%2B+analysis
While it seems like there is a need for consistency with intellectual property protection, is there a line being crossed? If American citizens are paying for stricter enforcement of taxpaying dollars to protect private industries such as the entertainment and pharmaceutical sectors, are we venturing in to something that is less capitalistic? Will this benefit the general welfare of Americans?
While I am in support of creating more consistent legislation in order to protect intellectual property rights, these rights are not absolute property rights. In the historical context, intellectual property has always been a balance between the rights of the private owner versus the rights of the general public. While I approve of Congress' efforts to make this body of law more consistent, the creation of this copyright czar seems to be little more than a way to appease lobbyists while not creating something that may be more beneficial and efficient in IP enforcement. How is one person supposed to solve the slew of problems that currently exist with intellectual property protection?
Monday, June 23, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Tide is Turning in China
After much outcry over the knockoffs being produced from China, Mr. Wang Qishan (the Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China) has written an article about the moves that China is trying to make in order to address international concerns of intellectual property rights and knockoffs.
You can access the article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121365431013978945.html
Here are some excerpts:
"In recent years, in order to stimulate enthusiasm for invention and innovation and to promote economic development and social progress, China has intensified IPR protection. Since 2004, a nationwide campaign for IPR protection has been carried out each year to end trademark, patent and copyright infringements -- particularly in import and export, wholesale markets, trade fairs, original-equipment manufacturer, printing and reproduction.
The ongoing 2008 IPR protection campaign includes 280 measures in 10 areas. In April alone, more than 810 events under the framework of "IPR Protection Publicity Week" were staged by competent authorities in different localities to enhance public awareness. More than 1.3 million people were directly involved in these activities.
IPR protection in China has paid off. Thanks to intensified efforts to raise public awareness of IPR protection and severe penalties for IPR violations, more and more people have begun to say no to counterfeit products and pirated software; applications for trademarks and patents have multiplied; and enterprises are more aware of the importance of branding, resulting in more branded products and fewer counterfeits in the market."
While it seems that China is trying to make a good faith effort to combat intellectual property violations, only time will tell how China can resolve the piracy issues that it is now facing. It is also facing pressures from the United States who maintains a large source of revenue from IP protection.
Post World War II, intellectual property has been an important source of revenue for the United States. “To protect its economic interests, the United States has been very aggressive in pushing for a universal intellectual property regime, which offers information and high-technology goods uniform protection throughout the world” Peter K. Yu, From Pirates To Partners: Protecting Intellectual Property In China In the Twenty-First Century, 50 Am. U.L. Rev. 131, 132 (2000). The United States’ aggressive stance towards intellectual property rights has been focused particularly on one of its largest delinquents: China.
The article in the Wall Street Journal seems to paint a picture that suggests that China understands the importance of IP protection. Mr. Wang writes of how it is not as advanced as the United States in terms of IP protection because of its status as a rapidly developing country:
"As a developing country in the process of accelerating industrialization and urbanization, China still has a long way to go before it can catch up with the U.S. in IPR generation, usage, protection and management. We hope that China and the U.S. can work more closely on intellectual property rights, duly recognize their disparities in capabilities and standards of IPR protection, and properly handle their differences and disputes.
Our two countries need to work together to overcome difficulties and challenges and encourage our business sectors and the general public to create more intellectual property rights for the benefit of our two peoples and humanity as a whole."
While I agree that it is beneficial for the U.S. and China to work together on IP protection, I also think it is important for the U.S. and China to also include other sovereign states and entities. It would be helpful for sovereign states to adopt a uniform piece of legislation (sort of like TRIPS but with more teeth) that would have enforceability. I guess we will have to see what China can do at the moment about piracy and IP rights in the next few weeks.
You can access the article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121365431013978945.html
Here are some excerpts:
"In recent years, in order to stimulate enthusiasm for invention and innovation and to promote economic development and social progress, China has intensified IPR protection. Since 2004, a nationwide campaign for IPR protection has been carried out each year to end trademark, patent and copyright infringements -- particularly in import and export, wholesale markets, trade fairs, original-equipment manufacturer, printing and reproduction.
The ongoing 2008 IPR protection campaign includes 280 measures in 10 areas. In April alone, more than 810 events under the framework of "IPR Protection Publicity Week" were staged by competent authorities in different localities to enhance public awareness. More than 1.3 million people were directly involved in these activities.
IPR protection in China has paid off. Thanks to intensified efforts to raise public awareness of IPR protection and severe penalties for IPR violations, more and more people have begun to say no to counterfeit products and pirated software; applications for trademarks and patents have multiplied; and enterprises are more aware of the importance of branding, resulting in more branded products and fewer counterfeits in the market."
While it seems that China is trying to make a good faith effort to combat intellectual property violations, only time will tell how China can resolve the piracy issues that it is now facing. It is also facing pressures from the United States who maintains a large source of revenue from IP protection.
Post World War II, intellectual property has been an important source of revenue for the United States. “To protect its economic interests, the United States has been very aggressive in pushing for a universal intellectual property regime, which offers information and high-technology goods uniform protection throughout the world” Peter K. Yu, From Pirates To Partners: Protecting Intellectual Property In China In the Twenty-First Century, 50 Am. U.L. Rev. 131, 132 (2000). The United States’ aggressive stance towards intellectual property rights has been focused particularly on one of its largest delinquents: China.
The article in the Wall Street Journal seems to paint a picture that suggests that China understands the importance of IP protection. Mr. Wang writes of how it is not as advanced as the United States in terms of IP protection because of its status as a rapidly developing country:
"As a developing country in the process of accelerating industrialization and urbanization, China still has a long way to go before it can catch up with the U.S. in IPR generation, usage, protection and management. We hope that China and the U.S. can work more closely on intellectual property rights, duly recognize their disparities in capabilities and standards of IPR protection, and properly handle their differences and disputes.
Our two countries need to work together to overcome difficulties and challenges and encourage our business sectors and the general public to create more intellectual property rights for the benefit of our two peoples and humanity as a whole."
While I agree that it is beneficial for the U.S. and China to work together on IP protection, I also think it is important for the U.S. and China to also include other sovereign states and entities. It would be helpful for sovereign states to adopt a uniform piece of legislation (sort of like TRIPS but with more teeth) that would have enforceability. I guess we will have to see what China can do at the moment about piracy and IP rights in the next few weeks.
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