Fri, Sep 08, 2000 page17

• Counterfeit figures change, but headaches remain

  • By Cybil Chou / STAFF REPORTER
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  The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) is applauding recent efforts to stem the flow of counterfeit goods exported to the US on news that that such exports dropped significantly in the first half of this year.

  But legal experts say while progress has been made, eradicating intellectual property right (IPR) infringement will require more consistent enforcement and tougher punitive sanctions to effectively address the problem. According to a US Customs report, Taiwan managed to cut the suspected IPR seizure rate on locally made products imported into the US between last October and March this year to 12 percent versus 43 percent in fiscal 1999.

  Despite the gains, Taiwan remains the US' second largest market for pirated goods after China, which accounted for 43 percent of all US seizures during the same period. In the previous fiscal year, Taiwan accounted for 43 percent of all pirated products exported to the US, valued at US$42 million.

  According to the figures, US authorities confiscated 1,609 pirated products worth US$22 million in the first half of fiscal 2000 through March this year.

  "The considerable improvement this year is largely due to increased awareness by domestic manufacturers on how to avoid patent infringements," said Wang Hsiou-hui (王秀惠) from the MOEA's intellectual property office (智慧財產局). Some seizures were caused by an insufficient understanding of US regulations related to, for example, product mislabeling and the use of other companies' patents or brands, Wang said.

  "A large number of corporate users do not deliberately ignore software copyrights," said Chang Hsueh-chien, deputy CEO of the Taiwan Business Software Alliance. "Copyright transgressions are largely caused by inadequate software asset management systems within the companies," he said.

  Legal experts said that the extent of the IPR infringement problem in Taiwan is a deep-rooted and persistent problem. Typical IPR infringements involve violations of patents and copyrights, trademarks and "trade dress" -- the outward, non-functional appearance of products. "The distribution networks for counterfeit goods are pervasive, " said attorney Don Roules with the US law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. "There have been significant seizures of counterfeit goods from Taiwan in most major markets worldwide, including Hong Kong, the US, Japan and the European Union," he said.

  Taiwan-made goods that violate US IPR laws include computer software, video games, DVDs, VCDs, golf equipment and cellphones.

  According to Winifred Tung (童文薰) with Qi Lin International Law Office (齊麟國際法律事務所), people throughout the greater China region are now aligning to further the reach of international piracy.

  "There has been evidence for several years of counterfeiting networks linking Taiwan, China and Hong Kong," Tung said. "With more serious punitive measures and enforcement of the law in Taiwan, scrupulous local infringers can certainly choose to move their operations to China."

  Roules' firm has also seen instances where they "assist clients in defeating counterfeiting problems in Taiwan, only to later be frustrated as the counterfeiters relocate their operations to China."
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