For Immediate Release

April 28, 2006

Contact: Deidre Huntington
Ph: (202) 220-4550
Email: dhuntington@publishers.org

Publishers Commend USTR’s Commitment to Reduce Global Piracy in Agency’s 2006 “Special 301” Decisions, Call for Further U.S. Government Engagement in Key Markets

Washington, DC, April 28, 2006: The Association of American Publishers (AAP) acknowledged Friday’s release of the annual Special 301 Report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).  The government report, detailing the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property protection in selected countries worldwide, highlighted book piracy among other issues ripe for action in the coming year.

The review places countries in one of several categories based on their effectiveness in fighting intellectual property theft.  Priority Foreign Countries, the worst offenders, are vulnerable to immediate sanctions under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.  Countries not ripe for designation as Priority Foreign Countries are placed on one of two “watch lists.”  A territory’s placement on the Priority Watch List or the Watch List sends a message that the U.S. government will be closely monitoring its progress in intellectual property protection.  USTR also can target countries for ongoing monitoring under other trade provisions.

AAP, as a member of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), submitted specific recommendations to USTR on February 13 as part of the annual review process.  AAP members estimate annual losses due to piracy of more than $600 million in the countries included in those recommendations.

As a result of its review, USTR maintained a number of countries of interest to publishers on the Priority Watch List, including the People’s Republic of China, India, Brazil, Egypt and Turkey, among others. 

USTR also announced a new initiative in China implementing a province-by-province IPR review, a plan welcomed by publishers.  Said AAP President and CEO Pat Schroeder, “China’s vast but decentralized market makes it very difficult to monitor varying levels of action against piracy throughout the country.  This review will help target areas for specific concentration by government officials and industry groups wanting to help alleviate the piracy problem there.”

Mrs. Schroeder continued with a comment about the scale of piracy and the potential market in China, noting, “AAP members reported $52 million in losses in China in 2005, and recent AAP initiatives there have only served to highlight the impact such losses have on our member companies trying to make their goods available in that market.  We welcome initiatives by both the U.S. and the Chinese governments in tackling this problem and we hope that new and inventive means of getting at the issue can continue to be implemented.”

Book publishing issues were specifically mentioned in USTR’s reports on India, Egypt and Turkey as reasons for their placement on the Priority Watch Lists.  AAP applauded the recognition of the dire effects of book piracy and illegal commercial photocopying in these countries.

USTR also placed several countries on the Watch List.  Mrs. Schroeder expressed concern at the retention of the Philippines at this level, as the country boasts one of the highest loss levels for publishers in the world.  “It seems nearly impossible to get a book pirate arrested and jailed in the Philippines.  Pirates act with impunity at public fairs, in stalls across the street from government buildings and in and around universities and medical facilities.  Backlogs and procedural hurdles in the court system allow pirates to keep operating at a full profit while legitimate producers suffer,” she noted.  “If the Philippines is serious about building its reputation in professional and technical education fields, it must provide a mechanism for protection of professional and technical materials.  We urge the U.S. government to keep fighting for this goal.”

Likewise, the publishing industry continues to experience devastating problems in Thailand, which was placed on the Watch List this year.  In noting this, Mrs. Schroeder emphasized the ongoing importance of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) process in resolving the industry’s issue there. “Until there is a clear understanding that commercial-scale photocopying of large portions of materials and whole books—even education books—is impermissible, meaningful progress in Thailand will be difficult,” she stated.  “We encourage USTR and its colleagues in the U.S. government to work to resolve the outstanding intellectual property protection issues in Thailand through the FTA process, 301 and any other mechanisms available.”

Other countries on the Watch List, consistent with AAP recommendations through IIPA, include Canada, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Taiwan.  In many cases, this placement rewards hard work toward a goal, and the publishing industry applauds this progress.  The industry, for example, has witnessed significant efforts to address illegal commercial photocopying in Taiwan.  Progress has also been made in Saudi Arabia, where legalization of adoption procedures at a few major universities have helped increase legitimate market share.  Efforts are underway in South Korea as well, but are still in the early stages.  Mrs. Schroeder cautioned that the publishing industry’s Watch List recommendation for Korea was not without reservation.  “The Koreans have made a good start toward meaningful engagement on illegal photocopying, including the advent of an on-campus action plan campaign by the Ministry of Education.  Such a good start must not be followed by inaction, but rather continued and augmented.  It is essential that the Korean authorities take a meaningful stand against use of illegal materials on campus, and against facilities that reproduce those materials.  We ask our government to use all bilateral mechanisms to address this issue, along with other continuing issues in South Korea.”

Likewise, Mrs. Schroeder noted that Pakistan’s reward for its crackdown on optical disc piracy should not be administered at the cost of recognition that there are still serious book piracy problems there.  “Nowhere is there a more notorious book piracy situation, and nowhere is there less meaningful government action against it,” commented Mrs. Schroeder, expressing dismay at the lack of USTR’s recognition of this continuing problem in its report.

AAP applauded the recognition of the importance of tackling illegal photocopying in Colombia and the need for effective protection of digital works in Canada.  The industry looks forward to working with USTR and other relevant agencies to work toward the goals central to this review process in the coming year.

The full report reviews the current status of intellectual property protection in 48 countries; it can be found at www.ustr.gov.  AAP’s February recommendations to USTR, submitted in conjunction with other copyright industries, can be accessed at www.iipa.com.

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of intellectual freedom, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association's primary concerns.