Piracy 'destroys livelihoods' in Lebanon - US lawyer
- From: m-e-d-a-w-a-r@xxxxxxxxx (BM)
- Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:40:49 +0000 (UTC)
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=84194
Piracy 'destroys livelihoods' in Lebanon - US lawyer
Usaid workshop addresses intellectual property rights
By Jim Campbell
BEIRUT: Problems with piracy and the state of intellectual property rights
(IPR) in Lebanon lead to adverse effects on technical innovation and
international trade, warned participants at a United States Agency for
International Development (USAID)-funded work shop on Monday.
"Piracy destroys [the] livelihood [of the Lebanese]," said Ralph Oman, an
American lawyer and lecturer on issues of intellectual property at
Washington D.C.'s George Washington University Law School. "[They] can't
pay their rent, can't feed their children. There's no future in piracy."
"Lebanon has a unique type of piracy," added Lebanese lawyer Walid Nasser,
referring to what he said were the 650-700 cable pirates present in the
country - people who provide cable to at least 90 percent of
cable-consuming households. Nasser also said that the proliferation of
pirated DVDs harms Lebanon by discouraging investment in local films.
The participants also discussed problems related to pirating of computer
software source codes and the disincentives the practice creates towards
innovation.
The issues associated with piracy and IPR may be a potential barrier to
Lebanon's desired 2008 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO),
according to Susan Slomback of the US-based nonprofit Institute for Trade
and Commercial Diplomacy (ITCD).
"It's a serious concern [for WTO accession] because IPR affects so many
industries," Slomback told The Daily Star. "It's a serious concern for
countries potentially looking to use Lebanon as a trading partner."
In Oman's view, a better IPR situation - involving the use and enforcement
of copyrights, trademarks and patents - will help to mitigate piracy.
Although he said that sound intellectual property policies may hurt the
Lebanese in the short term through higher prices for products, he added
that such standards will help the Lebanese economy in the long run.
"Patents, copyrights and trademarks will help economic development," he
said, adding that "without strong intellectual property protection, piracy
kills intellectual creativity."
Monday's event, held at the Intercontinental Phoenicia Hotel, was organized
by ITCD in conjunction with the USAID-funded International Service
Executive Corps (IESC) and its Lebanon-specific program, Access to
International Markets Through Information Technology (AIM-IT). AIM-IT seeks
to help Lebanese businesses in the exporting of information and
communication technology.
The event, which dealt heavily with issues of IPR, kicked off a two-week
period of conferences designed, according to a packet distributed to
attendees, to "address Lebanon's current trade and investment challenges as
set out by the objectives of USAID and the IESC/AIM-IT program."
The conferences will bring together people from the private and public
sectors - as well people from the legal profession, academia, the media,
non-governmental organizations and trade associations - to discuss subjects
related to trade, including Lebanon's potential 2008 accession to the WTO.
Although participants focused on problems with IPR in Lebanon, some
speakers pointed out that the Lebanese IPR situation is not as bleak as the
situations in some other countries.
"[The] laws are actually in pretty good shape," said Oman, a fact which he
attributed to the "long list of creative Lebanese" who have given Lebanon a
respect for principles of intellectual property.
Lebanese businesses need better education about IPR, suggested Aly Harakeh
of Microsoft Corporation and the Business Software Alliance. "We need to
get everyone speaking the same language," he said, adding that Lebanon
needs "to promote [IPR] not just in law schools," but also in fields like
engineering.
Harakeh supports the stricter implementation of penalties for people
involved in piracy. "The only language [pirates] understand is the money in
their pockets," he said. "We need deterrent fines."
He also said that the recent imprisonment of around 60 people on charges of
piracy "sends a strong message to pirates."
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