Copy-wrong?

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MAY BE READY to implement a new copyright law, but a watchdog group eyeing piracy around the globe says it's not enough.

Private sector group International Intellectual Property Alliance (DIPA) tells U.S. trade officials that the intellectual property practices in six countries--including the Dominican Republic--need immediate review if copyright piracy is to be controlled.

"Right now copyright theft is rampant," IIPA President Eric Smith says of the Caribbean nation, as well as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Smith says the countries must guarantee copyright protection if they expect continued duty-free trade benefits from the United States.

The IIPA complaint against the Dominican Republic calls a pending copyright bill "a vast improvement over the current 1986 law" and says it will boost copyright protection for computer software, videos, television programming, sound recordings, music and books. However, the IIPA says the proposal needs provisions to accommodate the digital economy.

The poor report card on copyright protection could harm the Dominican Republic's new Cyberpark of Santo Domingo, which aims to lure technology investment and manufacturers to the Caribbean nation. The park will include the Instituto Tecnologico de las Americas for technology students, two incubators for start-ups and a manufacturing area. Microsoft and Oracle have shown interest in the park, slated for completion in 2001.

The cyberpark sits near a golf course and beach, but IIPA says it will take more than leisure attractions to lure investors to a country without intellectual property safeguards.