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Japan proposes total ban on pirated goods

An employee of the Japan External Trade Organization shows off counterfeit DVDs of Japan's popular animation ''Gundam'' at its headquarters in Tokyo earlier this month. PHOTO: AFP

Japan's government and entertainment industry are urging other countries to tighten customs inspections to combat the counterfeit goods trade, proposing a treaty to plug loopholes in WTO rules.

Tokyo said this month it would propose an international treaty by the end of March next year which should complement World Trade Organization rules under the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

The move comes when Japan is promoting exports of award-winning contents -- from <> and comics to computer games and fashion -- to survive in the era of low economic growth by easing reliance on exports of cars and electronics.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi kicked off the current parliamentary session in January by saying the government would "promote businesses that capitalize on contents such as films and animation."

"With the aim of realizing a `nation founded on intellectual property,' the government will tighten measures against counterfeit and pirated copies, which is increasingly becoming a serious issue overseas," he promised.

Japan's proposal calls for a total ban on exports or imports of pirated goods by either firms or individuals.

The only area currently banned under the WTO accord is imports by firms.

"The spread of pirated goods through exports to nations other than Japan has been increasing recently, so are alleged individual trades," said a senior official at the premier's office in charge of intellectual property protection.

The official, who declined to be named, said Japan would make its proposal at a meeting of either the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) or the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Japan expects support from "like-minded industrialized countries", he said.

Michael O'Keeffe, an intellectual property expert at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, broadly agreed with the proposal after being informally briefed by Japanese officials recently.

"The US is equally troubled by counterfeit goods and cross-border trading of counterfeits," he told reporters. "It is a worthwhile suggestion to ban exports from a country to other countries."

"Falsified goods made in China are exported to another country and then re-exported to another country," he said.

Meanwhile, the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), a semi-public body jointly set up by Japanese contents businesses and the trade ministry, has been helping China crack down on the illegal trade.

Its staff visited Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Shenzhen last year in its first-ever project to train Chinese customs inspectors to improve their methods of detecting counterfeit goods, with some results.

A total of 107 cases or 700,000 pieces of DVDs and other software were seized in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China in the first four months of this year.
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