RI remains on U.S. copyright watch list

RI remains on U.S. copyright watch list

Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press, Washington

The U.S. government on Tuesday alleged that Ukraine, 49 other
nations, including Indonesia, and the European Union were not
doing enough to halt the piracy of U.S. movies, music and other
copyrighted material.

The administration singled out Ukraine as the worst offender
in its annual review of how well other countries are protecting
intellectual property rights.

It designated Ukraine as a priority foreign country, putting
the nation on notice that it could be hit with further economic
sanctions if it does not do more to halt production of tens of
millions of pirated music compact discs.

President George W. Bush's administration has already imposed
two sets of trade sanctions on Ukraine over the piracy issue,
which American companies claim costs them US$200 million
annually.

In addition to Ukraine's designation, the administration put
another 14 countries and the European Union on a priority watch
list and listed 33 other nations on a watch list, the lowest
designation of concern about property right protection.

In addition to the European Union, the 14 other countries
named to the priority watch list are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,
the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel,
Lebanon, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan and Uruguay.

The 33 nations on the watch list are Armenia, Azerbaijan, the
Bahamas, Belarus, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Greece,
Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Poland,
Qatar, Rumania, Saudi Arabia, the Slovak Republic, Tajikistan,
Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and
Vietnam.

China and Paraguay were also mentioned in the report because
of continued monitoring to make sure they live up to previous
agreements.

U.S. industries contend that they are losing US$20 billion to
$22 billion annually because of copyright piracy.

Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of
America, praised the new report and said the administration was
to be commended for calling attention to piracy problems in
Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and the Bahamas.

"We must work strenuously to reduce optical disc piracy in
every region of the world," Valenti said in a statement. "With 40
percent of our industry's revenues earned from overseas
distribution, it is critical that as a nation we protect our most
valuable assets around the world."

Eric Smith, president of the International Intellectual
Property Alliance, said his group appreciated the
administration's continued pressure on Ukraine.

"Reducing copyright piracy in overseas markets is vital to
this sector's continued health and growth," Smith said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said in a statement
that the administration was "very disappointed in Ukraine's lack
of progress" in cracking down on piracy.

Ukraine has enacted a new law to control copyright piracy, but
American companies contend the law is flawed and has not been
properly enforced.

Last August, the administration removed Ukraine from a program
that granted duty-free access for certain products from poor
nations. In January, the United States imposed another $75
million in retaliatory sanctions on the country by boosting U.S.
barriers on imports from Ukraine of textiles and steel.