U.S. Plans Crackdown on Piracy, Counterfeiting
481416
The United States is cracking down on the growing trade in counterfeit and pirated goods that costs U.S. businesses hundreds of billions of dollar annually, U.S. government and industry officials said on Monday.
374196
(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Department of Justice and President George Bush are committed to fighting intellectual-property theft and cybercrime, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a small audience in Seattle on Wednesday morning. He cited a number of initiatives the DOJ has launched in the past year and detailed a few high-profile arrests of cybercriminals as examples of the government's focus on the issues. Just last month in Seattle, for example, authorities indicted Robert Soloway, known as the "spam king," for his role in sending millions of spam e-mails and selling useless mass e-mailing products and services. "In bringing cases like this, we recognize that spam is not just an annoyance," Gonzales said. The DOJ has 240 federal prosecutors around the country who are trained to address complex computer crimes, he said. This week, many of them are attending a meeting in Florida with computer industry experts to beef up their training in how to respond to cyber incidents, he said. The DOJ has a similar number of prosecutors who are specially trained to handle intellectual-property theft investigations. Gonzales pointed to another local arrest from last year that was possible because of the work the DOJ is doing to prosecute such criminals. Scott Laney, a Washington man, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined more than $9 million for his role in acquiring Microsoft software at reduced rates and illegally reselling it at near market value. "The stiff sentence in this case shows modern-day pirates that we take these crimes seriously," Gonzales said. His biggest concern is that piracy is an easy way for criminals to raise money that could be used for other illicit activities, including terrorism. "It's more than just a question of protecting IP, it's a question of security," he said. The DOJ is also reaching out to overseas governments in hopes of encouraging them to crack down on intellectual-property crime. Last year, the DOJ provided training to more than 3,000 foreign prosecutors, investigators and judges in more than 100 countries, he said. "IP theft is undeniably an international concern," he said. Gonzales spoke at an event organized by TechNet Northwest, an association of technology companies that focuses on public policy and politics to help promote the high-tech economy. The event was also promoted by the Discovery Institute, a group that promotes creationism. Around 50 people attended. Gonzales didn't touch on a more sensitive local issue: The firing of Western Washington U.S. Attorney John McKay late last year. A small group of Seattlites didn't forget though, gathering outside of the hotel where Gonzales spoke to protest the firing and other issues.
715535
Counterfeiting in Malaysia risks becoming an epidemic, a senior U.S. trade official said Wednesday, urging the country to join the United States in launching a comprehensive attack on industrial piracy.
280368
The U.S. Justice Department on  Tuesday outlined what it called its most sweeping crackdown on  bootleg DVDs, fake designer goods, illegal music downloads and  counterfeit drugs.
77767
The Motion Picture Association of America is expected to announce a tactical shift in its campaign against movie piracy at a press conference later today.
476164
Microsoft Corp.'s forthcoming Windows Vista will take much harsher steps to curtail piracy than previous versions of its operating system, including crippling the usefulness of computers found to be running unlicensed copies of the new software.
108583
The world's biggest electronics firms are working on systems to stop digital content being pirated.
207308
The arrests and seizures came at a time American politicians and executives are pressing China to take strong measures to curb software piracy.
48693
Cash couriers and more sophisticated  international counterfeiting are emerging issues in the  struggle to cut sources of funds for terror groups and others,  a U.S. official said Wednesday.
414405
More than $500 million worth of  pirated software, including counterfeit Microsoft and Symantec  products, has been seized in a long-running joint probe by  Chinese police and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation,  officials from both countries said on Tuesday.
269264
DVDs will be harder to pirate thanks to new copy protection measures by Macrovision.
120912
Microsoft Corp. plans to severely curtail the ways in which people running pirated copies of its dominant Windows operating system can receive software updates, including security fixes.
22484
The FBI has seized equipment as part of the first copyright action taken against file-sharing networks.
619959
The planned international trade agreement to fight piracy could help reduce the distribution of fake semiconductors.
481363
The planned international trade agreement to fight piracy and counterfeiting could help reduce the distribution of fake semiconductors, analysts said Wednesday.The U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday announced that the U.S., European Union, and other countries will negotiate to establish the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which will encourage countries to follow intellectual-property rights established by the World Trade Organization and other global trade groups. The discussions will focus on better international cooperation, best practices, and the establishment of a legal framework to protect intellectual-property rights.ACTA is needed to tackle the proliferation of intellectual-property infringements and to reduce the distribution of counterfeit items, the European Commission said in a study released Tuesday. More than 130 million counterfeit items were seized in 2006.Companies are already taking losses from counterfeit chips, so cracking down on piracy and counterfeiting will ensure reliable electronics and more savings, analysts said.Effective anticounterfeiting measures will ensure electronics contain genuine semiconductors and deliver full performance and reliability, said the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in a statement, lauding the ACTA announcement. SIA already has its own measures to combat semiconductor counterfeiting, SIA said.Semiconductor counterfeiting revolves around replacing labels, said Daryl Hatano, vice president of public policy at the SIA. Semiconductor labels could be changed by counterfeiters to indicate a different brand or better performance, which could affect devices, Hatano said.&quot;If there&#39;s one bad chip, it can cause the failure of the computer,&quot; Hatano said. People who buy counterfeit chips could lose money too by overpaying for fake chips, Hatano said.Cases of counterfeit semiconductors in distribution has increased over the years, though SIA couldn&#39;t provide numbers. SIA is already working with the U.S. government to combat semiconductor counterfeiting, Hatano said.Counterfeit chips could affect research and development of semiconductor companies, said Jim Handy, an analyst with research firm Objective Analysis. Losses from fake chips cause semiconductor companies to tap into research and development budgets, a move that affects the development of future technologies, Handy said.Many cases of counterfeit semiconductors originate from China, which lacks strong intellectual-property enforcement laws, Handy said. Chinese courts tend to support local companies in patent-infringement cases, Handy said.International treaties need to be written in such a way that Chinese courts are motivated to be unbiased, Handy said.The trade agreement is not about ganging up against China or other countries that are not part of the group, the Commission said in its study. Countries are invited to join the initiative for &quot;stronger enforcement to deal with the challenges of piracy and counterfeiting today,&quot; the Commission said.The U.S. will engage in trade agreement discussions Canada, the E.U., Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and Switzerland, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.
227505
SHENZHEN, China  - More than $500 million worth of  pirated software, including counterfeit Microsoft and Symantec  products, has been seized in a long-running joint probe by  Chinese police and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation,  officials from both countries said on Tuesday.
535458
Major movies studios to announce fresh crackdown on illegal downloads, according to a news report. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Motion Picture Association of America is expected to announce a new campaign aimed