Malaysia, Russia, China Head List Of Copyright Offenders

A report filed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to the U.S. Trade Representative has named Malaysia, China and Russia as the worst havens for software piracy, including game piracy, in the world. The annual report of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) details levels of piracy in foriegn markets that exceed 80 percent and even 90 percent in parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America. The report cites Malaysia as the world’s number one manufacturer and exporter of factory-produced, pirated optical disc product, with China being number one for counterfeit cartridge-based products. The report claims that piracy rates upward of 90 percent persist in China – where month-long content review processes give pirates an exclusive distribution window for their wares. Russia, meanwhile, remains the number one exporter of pirated CD-R and DVD-R content, where organized criminal syndicates run factories producing hundreds of millions of disc ever year. Other countries with high piracy rates include India (86 percent), Brazil (74 percent) and Saudi Arabi (68 percent). "Despite efforts by the U.S. Government over the years, it’s déjà vu all over again as these countries continue to skirt their global obligations to protect intellectual property," said Doug Lowenstein, president of the ESA. "We hope that this year’s report will prompt the U.S. to crack down even further. Our industry makes substantial contributions to the U.S. economy, but piracy closes off promising markets, artificially limiting our industry’s ability to contribute even more economic growth to the American high tech economy." The IIPA's full report will shortly be available at www.iipa.com, and details in separate chapters the IP legal and enforcement-related deficiencies of more than 50 countries.