NCJ Number
177843
Editor(s)
Thomas Blumer
Date Published
1996
Length
236 pages
Annotation
This document contains overviews of the laws dealing with copyright, patent and trademark in 24 countries, the European Union and under International Law, with special emphasis on recent intellectual property developments, including protection of industrial designs, computer programs and integrated circuits.
Abstract
The report covers countries that belong to the civil law or the common law tradition--developed as well as developing countries. Counterfeiting intellectual property has grown significantly in recent years. Counterfeit products are estimated to constitute 3 to 6 percent of world trade. In some countries that do not have adequate protection against counterfeiting and piracy, the level of piracy in music and video recording is at 100 percent, and in other industries (books, computer programs) it has reached 95 percent. There is no uniform definition of what constitutes counterfeiting, protection against counterfeiting intellectual property varies from country to country, particularly in relation to foreign owners of intellectual property, and there are no efficient enforcement mechanisms. As a result, counterfeiting has become one of the major problems in international trade and international relations. The report describes legislation designed to provide protection against counterfeiting intellectual property, and civil, criminal, and administrative remedies for intellectual infringement and the right to petition the courts. Notes, bibliography