- MarissaBrand
- gordman
- mithunsarker
- Kim07
- Ralph Waldren
Cold Pirating
Submitted by Taran on 27 July, 2004 - 16:03.
Russia, a country where you can get software for pennies on the dollar, has an intellectual property issue that they want addressed: the AK47.
This New York Times article, 'Who's a Pirate? Russia Points Back at the U.S.', does a pretty good job of explaining the complaint in context.
...Bootlegged copies of new American movies - "King Arthur,'' "Troy'' and "Spider-Man 2'' - sell for $3. Photoshop CS, a $600 program in Western stores, fetches $2.75.
Markets like this, found throughout Russia, have been a longstanding subject of diplomatic complaint. Washington contends Russian intellectual-property pirates cost the United States more than $1 billion a year.
Now Russia is striking back. A Russian industry and product designer are asserting that the United States has been abetting intellectual-property pirates to suit its own needs, by directing copies of Russian merchandise around the world.
The complaint is not about software or music. It makes no mention of movies or video games. It is about the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the most prolific firearm ever made.
"We see a great number of products which are named after Kalashnikov, my name,'' said Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, the weapon's original designer. "They are buying Kalashnikovs from other countries,'' he added...
What's really interesting here is that this isn't software, and therefore is very clear - if Russia, or Russians, do in fact hold patents on the rifle - how long is that patent good for? Has this fell into the public domain at this point as far as international intellectual property law, or do the Russians have a case?
And then, one has to wonder after reading the article... where do all these rifles go, anyway?