Governments can help piracy fight, companies say.

Global companies say that more government enforcement is what is needed most to win the fight against counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property, according to a survey by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and London's Cass Business School.

"We hear much about the damage done by piracy and counterfeiting, but we do not have a systematic picture of the problem," says Cass Prof. Joseph Lampel. "This is the first survey that directly asks global companies to provide an evaluation of which countries have the best and worst intellectual property protection, and why."

Working with the ICC's Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) initiative, Lampel acted as principal investigator in the first annual "BASCAP Global Survey on Counterfeiting and Piracy." The survey polled 48 companies, many with global operations, spanning 27 product categories. The findings provide a snapshot of country and business efforts to stop the theft of intellectual property, which has become a substantial drain on business and has led to the widespread loss of jobs and a massive reduction in tax revenues.

Among key findings, the U.S., U.K. and Germany were perceived to have the strongest environments in combating piracy and theft of intellectual property. China was perceived to have the weakest, followed by Russia, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine.

A country's unwillingness to fulfill its international IP obligations was recognized as a commonality among nations with the worst problems, while survey respondents credited IP-favorable countries with having strong public cooperation with enforcement authorities.

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