Intellectual Property Rights part 1 Essay - 3,430 words

Intellectual Property Rights Within the course of this research, we will talk about the intellectual property rights in developing countries. We will first briefly talk about the intellectual property and related issues, to be followed by the discussion of the state of intellectual property rights in Pakistan, an exemplary developing country. As technology improves, the current laws about intellectual property and copyright are being challenged. Copying of nearly everything, from sound, to text, to video is made simple with computers, the Internet, scanners, CD burners and other technology. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated in the 1980s the worldwide value of pirated music to be $1.2 billion annually (Griffiths, p.


137). The International Intellectual Property Alliance estimated Unites States losses in the recorded music industry due to piracy at $600 million per year in the 1980s and the numbers are certainly higher now (Griffiths, p. 139). There is obviously a lot at stake for those who are involved with the music industry as well as all the other industries affected by piracy. Before analyzing issues regarding this complex topic, it may help to understand some of the most commonly used terms. For example, there is a difference between intellectual property and copyright. Intellectual property is a broad term covering human's work of all kinds.


Some intellectual property, that which are literary and artistic works, can be copyrighted. Copyrights are used to protect the use of intellectual property. Many types of work can be copyrighted. Copyrights are used to protect the "expression of ideas," not specifically ideas themselves (Miller, p. 77). For example, a person who writes a song about Alma College can copyright that specific song, but that person is not the only one who can make songs about Alma College. There are three basic requirements for a work to be copyrighted including fixation, originality, and expression (Miller, p.


104). A work is "fixed" if it is "sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration" (Weil, p. 236). Basically, a work must be in a form that could be copied in order to receive protection from unauthorized copying. A work is protected by copyright if it is "fixed by any method now known or later developed" or even if the work can be perceived only "with the aid of a machine or device," such as a compact disc being played on a player (Talbott, p. 88). Originality states that a work must owe it origins to the person claiming to be the author.


It does not imply though, that "a work must be new, startling, novel, or unusual" (Talbott, p.90). It just must not be a copy of someone else's work. The idea of expression is that which was discussed earlier. In order to be copyrighted, a work must be a specific expression of an idea, not just an idea. Laws regarding intellectual property are in place to protect expression of ideas as well as economic well-being of companies, like record companies, who are dependent on intellectual property as a product to be sold. Estimations have reported that "the theft of intellectual property rights in the United States cost over $300 billion dollars in 1997 alone" (Griffiths, p. 180).


To understand all of the issues relating to intellectual property one must first be familiar with the current laws regarding copyright. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has international standards for intellectual property and has most jurisdictions over international agreements, but there is no "official" body to enforce intellectual property laws. The WIPO encourages member nations to make and update their domestic laws to protect intellectual property and also encourages cooperation between member nations by centralizing the administration of such laws. There are currently 171 members. (Griffiths, p. 192) No specific international laws regulate worldwide copyright protection, it is dependent on individual nations' laws, but there are generally accepted agreements between nations.


The Berne Convention was an original agreement regarding intellectual property. It has been in effect since 1886, with the WIPO administering it. Berne covers protection of literary and artistic works very broadly and establishes three main principles: national treatment, nonconditional protection, and protection independent of the existence of protection in the country of origin. Notably though, the United States never signed the Berne Convention. (Weil, p. 286) There have been various other international treaties and conventions regarding copyright and intellectual property laws.


The Geneva Convention, Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonogram, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty all deal with intellectual property. Ever since the introduction of VCRs in Pakistan, the video films dealers are doing a roaring business, running into trillions of rupees annually, almost like a "Tax free" Bonanza. Even if the existing laws governing the video films, like Copyright or Motion Pictures Ordinance, were considered seriously the nation would have made trillions. Unfortunately ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: intellectual property, property rights, copyright, piracy, music industry

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