Archive for April 14th, 2010

U.S. Government Study: Counterfeiting and Piracy Data Unreliable

For several years, I have written about the lack of reliability of data on counterfeiting.  The RCMP cited data without any factual basis, while other groups regularly made claims without support, such as reports from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Conference Board of Canada.  Of course, this phenomenon was not limited to Canada.  The US Patent and Trademark Office relied on the same data to claim 7 – 8 % of world trade is counterfeit, while a report from the first Global Congress on Counterfeiting, which led to ACTA, pointed to FBI data it said showed counterfeiting at US$200 – 250 billion per year.

This week a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office concludes that estimates such as these are not reliable and cannot be substantiated to a data source.  The U.S. GAO was required by Congress to try to quantify the impact of counterfeit and pirated goods.  While concluding that counterfeiting exists and is a problem, the GAO could not find reliable data.  Its review of commonly cited claims:

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April 14, 2010 24 comments News

Copyright Secrets? Canadian Heritage Receives “F” On Access To Information Compliance

The Interim Access to Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault released a new report yesterday on government compliance with the Access to Information Act.  The report concludes that the right to obtain federal documents is at risk of being "totally obliterated."  For readers of this blog, three departments figure most prominently in […]

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April 14, 2010 5 comments News

McGreal Warns on Access Copyright Demands

Rory McGreal of Athabasca University warns about the latest demands from Access Copyright, which could result in a major increase in costs for students and education institutions.

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April 14, 2010 5 comments News

Consumer Electronics Association on ACTA

Consumer Electronics Association head Gary Shapiro writes on ACTA, warning that it is the most dangerous global trade agreement you've never heard of.

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April 14, 2010 Comments are Disabled News