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US trade office adds Canada to list of countries with 'inadequate' IP protections

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Thursday added Canada to its Priority Watch List of 12 countries that are not adequately protecting intellectual property rights. In its 2009 Special 301 Report, the USTR also elevated Algeria and Indonesia to the list and removed South Korea. Canada has been added to the list because it "has not delivered on these commitments by promptly and effectively implementing key copyright reforms." No other Western Democracy is on the list. USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk said:As U.S. right holders, businesses, and workers suffer losses from international piracy, counterfeiting, and other forms of IPR theft, the Special 301 Report provides a critical policy tool for focusing on urgent problems that undermine one of America's great strengths in the global economy – our innovation and creativity. ... In this time of economic uncertainty, we need to redouble our efforts to work with all of our trading partners – even our closest allies and neighbors such as Canada – to enhance protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the context of a rules-based trading system.Canada has previously been criticized as one of the worst violators of US copyright law. Last year, the US-based International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a consortium of seven trade associations representing 1,900 US companies producing and distributing copyrighted materials, said that Canada was one of the worst violators, along with Russia and China, which are also on the USTR priority list. The IIPA found that the number of violations had increased over the past year due to what it called the "explosive growth of online and mobile piracy." In June, Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice introduced new federal copyright legislation in the House of Commons. The reforms would update the existing law by taking into account new technologies developed over the last decade and setting tough new penalties for uploading and downloading copyrighted material and breaking "locks" on protected devices like cellphones and DVDs. The bill is currently moving through the legislative process.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 01, 2009 (boomark / email).