PIRACY IN RUSSIA RAMPANT INDUSTRY WANTS U.S. TO PRESS PUTIN ON COPYRIGHT LAWS.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - If the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. wants to curb already rampant piracy in Russia, it must learn from mistakes it made with China - and fast, experts told Congress Tuesday. As Russia seeks admission into the World Trade Organization, the White House must threaten serious trade sanctions Trade sanctions are trade penalties imposed by one or more countries on one or more other countries. Typically the sanctions take the form of import tariffs (duties), licensing schemes or other administrative hurdles. and the ineligibility of duty-free imports into the U.S. unless Moscow cracks down on intellectual property violations, said Eric Schwartz, vice president of the International Intellectual Property Alliance. Bonnie bon·ny also bon·nie adj. bon·ni·er, bon·ni·est Scots 1. Physically attractive or appealing; pretty. 2. Excellent. J.K. Richardson, vice president of international policy for the Motion Picture Association of America, said reform must start with Russian President Vladimir Putin. ``We will see no progress unless President Putin himself demands accountability from his senior officials,'' Richardson said. ``Only he can do it,'' she said, noting that many of the estimated 34 plants mass-producing pirated movies sit on government property and military installations, and that all eight plants raided last year are still in operation. The testimony on Russia and China piracy before the House Judiciary Committee Judiciary Committee may refer to:
A counterfeit coin is one that may pass for a genuine coin and may include a lower denomination coin altered so that it may goods only four years after it entered the WTO See World Trade Organization. with promises to crack down on bootlegging bootlegging, in the United States, the illegal distribution or production of liquor and other highly taxed goods. First practiced when liquor taxes were high, bootlegging was instrumental in defeating early attempts to regulate the liquor business by taxation. . Victoria Espinel, acting assistant U.S. trade representative for intellectual property, said the agency may file a case against China if it does not make changes. Rep. Howard Berman Howard Lawrence "Howie" Berman (born April 15 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). , D-Van Nuys, the leading Democrat on the subcommittee, said the U.S. has an opportunity to learn from its mistakes with China and get a ``meaningful commitment'' on intellectual property from Russia. He criticized the Bush administration for not having filed any WTO actions dealing with piracy against China. ``That's billions of dollars in our economy.'' Russia is second to China in the selling of counterfeit goods. Schwartz estimated the entertainment industry lost about $1.7 billion to Russia last year alone in bootlegged goods. He said eight of the known 34 piracy plants are dedicated to making DVDs at a rate of about 400 million discs each year. ``We think the time for the Russian government is up,'' Schwartz said. Espinel said trade officials are ``raising these and other concerns'' in talks with Moscow. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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