Global Piracy Rampant -- But You Can Fight Back

Piracy is running rampant, according to a report from the U.S. government. Not the kind of pirates with eye patches and parrots on their shoulders, but rather the kind that downloads content illegally from the Internet, counterfeits products, and generally hijacks the profits of pharmaceuticals, electronics, software, and other goods. China and Russia were singled out in particular for their weak protections of intellectual property rights (IPR).

The report, known as Special 301, is conducted annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to examine the global state of IPR in accordance with the Special 301 provisions of the Trade Act of 1974. This year, the USTR designated 46 countries in one of three "watch list" categories. China and Russia -- which were both given kudos for improved measures against pirates and counterfeiters -- made their way to the top of the list, followed by other trading partners, including Argentina, Israel, Pakistan and Thailand.

On the Lists

Belize and Lithuania both were removed from the Watch List thanks to "heightened engagement" with the United States. Other countries, including Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, made their way off the dreaded Priority Watch List and on to the less serious Watch List, thanks to improvements made on IPR. (Spain and Greece are new Watch List members as well.) The USTR wields power against friend and foe; even Canada is on the Watch List, cited in part for its "weak border measures [that] continue to be a serious concern for IP owners."

The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which represents a group of seven trade associations concerned with copyright, hailed the report (it had requested that Canada be put on the Watch List) and issued a matrix of estimated trade losses due to copyright piracy. It estimated that China's piracy cost businesses...