Riaa Wants Israel Cited For "rampant' Music Piracy

WASHINGTON, D.C.‹Sound recording piracy in Israel has increased to such a level that the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) has recommended that the U.S. trade representative (USTR) cite it as a Priority Country, USTR's most serious trade violation designation.
The RIAA, the Motion Picture Assn. of America, and other groups whose members are copyright holders file a yearly report to the USTR in conjunction with the International Intellectual Property Alliance. The report provides input prior to the USTR's citation of countries that are in violation of the Special 301 provision of U.S. trade law.
The RIAA says that in 1998, the U.S. recording industry lost $60 million in sales in Israel as a result of rampant piracy. According to Neal Turkewitz, RIAA executive VP, international, "In the past year piracy has nearly doubled in Israel," although the country has copyright infringement laws on the books.
"The losses are due to lax law enforcement," Turkewitz says.
USTR will announce its Special 301 Priority Watch list April 30. Countries are cited if they are found to be violating intellectual-property trade obligations. They must begin discussions with U.S. government officials on improved copyright protection or face the potential loss of market access to the U.S. for their exports.
The RIAA has also recommended that Poland and Ukraine be placed on the second tier of the Priority Watch List because of increased piracy activity. Pirated product accounts for 95% of the sound recording market in Ukraine and 40% in Poland, according to the RIAA.
"Ukraine has replaced Bulgaria as the principal country of production and export for pirated product," Turkewitz says. "In 1996, there was one CD plant in Ukraine; now there are four plants producing illegal CDs."
Brazil, Kuwait, Mexico, Peru, and the Russian Federation are recommended by the RIAA and others to return to the Priority Watch List for high piracy levels and annual record industry losses of as much as $290 million (Brazil) and $170 million (Russian Federation), according to the RIAA.
Thirty-three countries were recommended by the RIAA to be placed on the third-tier Watch List, where losses may be lower. They include Romania, where 90% of sound recording product is of pirate origin, and Vietnam, where the figure stands at 99%.
According to Turkewitz, Japan has also been cited by RIAA for inclusion on the Watch List because it allows subscription-based music services without extending rights to U.S. labels for the storage and transmission of the recorded music they have created. Turkewitz says these practices are "unreasonable and unfair."
"The recurring theme of today's report," Turkewitz says, "is a continued lack of enforcement in many territories, particularly in regard to a burgeoning trade in illegal CDs."
In other RIAA news, on Feb. 18 Hilary Rosen, RIAA president/CEO, announced the departure of Steven D'Onofrio, executive VP and director of anti-piracy, after an 18-year association with the trade group. He will leave the RIAA in June and will be succeeded by senior VP/director of investigations Frank Creighton, a veteran investigator.
His accomplishments include development of the legislative campaign that dramatically changed the enforcement landscape over the last decade‹the passage of "true name and address" statutes in 36 states, which resulted in thousands of criminal seizures and convictions.
He also spearheaded the effort for California's optical disc identification legislation, helped draft the first federal anti-bootleg statute, and was responsible for bringing forward cases that resulted in multimillion dollar judgments against pirates.