Posted on 06/28/2005 8:16:44 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
China says unfairly picked on for fakes
Tue Jun 28, 4:10 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - China, where pirated goods from golf clubs to DVDs are sold openly on almost every city block, complained on Tuesday that it was being unfairly singled out for copyright fraud by the United States.
A senior official expressed "deep regret" over a U.S. decision to put China on a priority watch list in intellectual property right protection, saying it was unwarranted.
Vice Commerce Minister Zhang Zhigang said that losses incurred by piracy in Europe and the United States outshone China, with "the per-capita loss" reported there far surpassing that of the Asia-Pacific region.
"Therefore, the priorities in the global crackdown on piracy should first be the EU, then the United States and then the Asia- Pacific region," he told a news conference.
"China does not deserve to be among the top priorities yet."
China had handled 24,189 trademark infringement cases and seized more than 167 million pieces of "illegal audio-video products and pirated products" since the country launched a crackdown on IPR violations last September, he said in remarks reported by the official Xinhua news agency.
In addition, China had destroyed 24 illegal CD production lines and closed down 2,960 illegal printing workshops.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez kicked off his first official trip to China this month by saying that the country's rampant counterfeiting of American products was the top issue bedevilling trade ties.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that global trade in fake and pirated goods costs the American economy $250 billion each year.
Pirated DVDs of the latest Hollywood blockbuster are on sale on most street corners in Beijing for about $1 each, but arrests are few and far between.
So few, it seems, that Xinhua last week reported that authorities in Macau had seized 150 pirated CDs -- even though almost any street vendor has as many.
"The Post quoted sources from Macau Customs as saying that Customs officers, on a tip-off, searched a shop near the Macau- Zhuhai Barrier Gate and recovered the contraband," it said.
Two suspects, a married couple, had been arrested, it added, quoting the Macau Post newspaper.
You know why you are on the top of the list. You still keep Chia Fruit regime alive.
Ping!
Like a bank robber complaining about profiling.
How many caught street vendors were executed?
Our consumption and desire for cheap goods will be the reason for our downfall. In twenty years I fear that we'll all be answering to Beijing (in Spanish of course). The Chi-coms are sitting on huge reserves of American dollars that could easily be used to put our economy in the crapper. The next step will be the conquest of Taiwan and we'll be stuck in a real quandary as to what to do about it.
I don't think that China would be around long enough to accomplish them all. However, it will give us a lot of pain for sure, if we are not careful.
Meanwhile, Star Wars DVD's hit the streets of Shanghai a matter of hours before it started playing in American theaters.
<< Meanwhile, Star Wars DVD's hit the streets of Shanghai a matter of hours before it started playing in American theaters. >>
And meanwhile, also, more than 40% of "china's" much-vaunted economy derives from counterfeiting and intellectual and other theft.
[Taken the train to Kunming yet, Doc? Still eagerly awaiting your report!]
Awww, isn't that a shame...
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