By Thomas Mennecke -
Intellectual Property rights are a topic often discussed in file-sharing circles. Of course, the RIAA is holder of most of the Intellectual Property rights (90%) of music bought and sold in the world today. While the RIAA blames file-sharing as the root of its losses, it can take some comfort in knowing it’s not alone.
In fact, the RIAA isn't even close to being alone, as intellectual property theft has truly become an all-encompassing empire. Anything from drugs & medical equipment to computer equipment is a potential counterfeiting target.
The United States, followed by South Korea, Italy, Spain and the UK were the top 5 countries to report intellectual property violations (China was #10.) However, the Philippines top all countries with the highest rate of all forms of counterfeiting and pirate activity. It is estimated that nearly $501 million in counterfeit goods was manufactured and sold from this country in the month of June alone. The United States came in second with a disappointing $91 million.
The most popular items to counterfeit actually are not music, movies or software. Financial instruments (such as bonds or cash) are the number one targets of counterfeiters, bringing in a value of over $509 million worldwide. The pirate music, movie and software trade comes in at a distant second, yielding only $91 million. For the month of June, the total value of counterfeit goods was a staggering $623 million.
Perhaps shedding some light on Microsoft's quest to dampen the pirated operating system market, this manufacturer's products are the second most sought after brand to counterfeit.
Source: Slyck News
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