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Mon, Jan 10, 2005 - Page 12 News List

US firms get tough on IP piracy

BAD REPUTATION Chinese companies are responsible for 70 percent of intellectual property theft, and they are the target for new moves combatting the flood of fakes

AFP , WASHINGTON

Intellectual property theft costs 750,000 American jobs a year, according to the chamber.

The World Customs Organization and Interpol say the global trade in illegitimate goods increased last year to more than US$600 billion.

Microsoft boss Bill Gates, whose company is facing a tough time cracking the Chinese market due to fakes, said the US could not compromise on intellectual property.

Pirated copies of the software giant's products in China are widely available at prices as low as little more than US$1 for a CD-ROM.

Gates felt economies that want to become competitive should respect intellectual property as it was an "incentive system" for products of the future.

"There are fewer communists in the world today than there were," he said when asked at a forum about current attempts to curb intellectual property rights.

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