ESA Asks Govt. for Help Battling Pirates
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade group representing the videogame industry, filed a "Special 301" report to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) today pleading for help battling software piracy. The report singles out Canada, China, Malaysia, Russia, and parts of Europe as being extreme problem areas where piracy runs rampant.
"Countries that support computer and videogame piracy discourage publishers from establishing viable and legitimate markets," said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA. "The Special 301 process sends a strong message to them to clean up their act to avoid damaging trade sanctions.
"In 2007, our industry had a record-breaking year with receipts totaling $18.85 billion, but piracy closes off promising markets, artificially limiting our industry's ability to contribute even more economic growth to the American high-tech economy and economies of our trading partners."
The many forms of piracy cited in the report include online file swapping, CD-R and DVD-R burning, the factory production of new discs, cartridge counterfeiting, and "Internet café piracy." The ESA says parts of Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central/South America have videogame markets made up of 80 to 90 percent pirated software.
The Special 301 report asks for government help dealing with the following specific problems:
Legal and enforcement deficiencies in Canada. Pirated copies of games and circumvention devices have permeated retail markets in Canada, due to legal deficiencies and that IPR enforcement remains a low priority for public officials.
Pirate production for export in China and Malaysia. Pirated optical discs and cartridge games manufactured in China stunt legitimate game sales in many foreign markets. Pirated optical discs produced in and exported from Malaysia produce similar problems.
Impediments to growth in the Chinese market. Excessive bureaucratic delays in title approval, coupled with easy access to pirated copies and a ban on the sale of home consoles artificially constrain industry growth in China.
Saturation of Russian market. Factory production of pirated games in Russia has saturated what should otherwise be a rich market, particularly for PC game product.
Online piracy explosion in Europe. Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden are among the most problematic countries with respect to online piracy, particularly through the use of P-2-P protocols. Online piracy growth is not confined to Europe, with extraordinarily high online piracy noted in Brazil, Canada and China.
Paraguay as pirate hub for Latin America. Paraguay continues to serve as a major transshipment point for pirated and counterfeit games from Asia, affecting many South American markets, including Brazil.
Market access in Brazil and India. Legitimate game sales are virtually non-existent in Brazil and India, owing to high tariffs and additional taxes.
"This year our Special 301 filing highlights countries that urgently need to begin backing up their commitment to creativity and innovation," said Gallagher. "We look forward to working with USTR and other supporting government agencies to achieve tangible results and hopefully succeed in lowering piracy in these key countries," said Gallagher. "Freeing these markets from the pirates' stranglehold will also help empower a local video game economy."
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