RIAA asks US to strike Russia

[GullyFoyle]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28547

RIAA asks US to strike Russia

Need to stop the pirates

By Nick Farrell: Monday 26 December 2005, 09:54
THE RECORDING Industry of America (RIAA) is leaning on the US Senate to take tough action against Russia over music and software piracy in that country.

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

The RIAA wants Russia to know that unless it submits to its demands to stop acting as a safe haven for pirates then there is no chance of it getting decent trading conditions with the US.

RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said that the U.S.-Russia relationship must be built upon a mutual understanding of shared obligations and the application of the rule of law.

"The effective protection of American intellectual property has been sorely lacking in Russia. We must not enter into political arrangements with countries ill-prepared to adequately protect our greatest economic assets," Bainwol said.

RIAA will prove to be a Paper Tiger in this matter. The US has enough tough spots with Russia and Iran or Russia and Syria or Russia and Venezuela to deal with without adding to the woes.

[hech54]

It is however very sickening to see all of the bootleg stuff coming from former Soviet countries and China. I was in Prague recently.....in a CD shop....but there were none for sale. You could buy CD and DVD blanks, jewel cases and use the photocopier however....Hmm....I wonder what kind of business they were running?

[Headbanger's Ball]

There's no doubt that piracy is rampant outside US borders. I've been to Asia and seen all the vendors.

But the RIAA has zero authority in the former Soviet Union! They need to let sovereign nations handle their own affairs. Why should Russia be concerned about whether or not American music is being pirated? Are we concerned about Russian artists being paid? Protecting US IPs aren't even going to be on the Russian's radar as being even remotely important. Russia has bigger problems to address.

The RIAA needs to STFU and be concerned about themselves becoming obsolete. Put out music people want to hear, stop forcing bad music on the public, stop putting virii on cds, lower prices, & keep up with the new on-demand marketplace or face extinction. Simple as that.

The only ones who care about the RIAA is the RIAA and the Senators who cash their checks.

Musicians no longer need record companies. That should scare the music industry more than a CD shop in Prague or Manila.

[mbellot]

Hmm....I wonder what kind of business they were running?

Probably the only kind that could turn a profit, given the circumstances.

I give the RIAA credit for coming up with yet another brilliantly twisted concept, but it will never fly.

The chances of booting Russia or Asia out of WTO is so small its laughable, especially over something like music piracy.

This is just further posturing by the RIAA, our favorite terminal patient who refuses to just let go and die.

[dvdguy4]

"The effective protection of American intellectual property has been sorely lacking in Russia. We must not enter into political arrangements with countries ill-prepared to adequately protect our greatest economic assets," Bainwol said.

Like they really care about American intellectual properties. Russia has never liked us or trusted us and Russia is also a big exporter of oil so if this goes down which I dont think it will, I hope Russia stops their exports of oil and and other things .

[Gregg]

Simply forget about copyrights in Russsia! There's no such matter in the universe. It's highly impossible that anything will change.
Now put yourselves in those peoples shoes - if you make $300-400 a month are you going to buy DVDs or CDs at $20 each? Or let's put it that way - if you make $2-3000 a month are you going to buy a CD that costs $100-150?
dvdguy4: If you don't know Russia is one of the biggest exporters of oil and natural gas /biggest reserves in the world/ so there isn't even a remote chance that will stop exporting oil and natural gas - on the contrary - the export will grow steadily. Just look at Russia's increasingly oil hungry neighbours like China, India, Pakistan and even Japan. Also don't forget that Russia is the main natural gas supplier of Europe. No matter how much we don't like it we have to consider the facts.

[dvdguy4]

Simply forget about copyrights in Russsia! There's no such matter in the universe. It's highly impossible that anything will change.
Now put yourselves in those peoples shoes - if you make $300-400 a month are you going to buy a DVDs or CDs at $20 each? Or let's put it that way - if you make $2-3000 a month are you going to buy a CD that costs $100-150?
dvdguy4: If you don't know Russia is one of the biggest exporters of oil and natural gas /biggest reserves in the world/ so there isn't even a remote chance that will stop exporting oil and natural gas - on the contrary - the export will grow steadily. Just look at Russia's increasingly oil hungry neighbours like China, India, Pakistan and even Japan. Also don't forget that Russia is the main natural gas supplier of Europe. No matter how we don't like we have to consider the facts.

Im sick and tired of seeing lobbiest having control of this country. Lobbiest I mean BIG BUSINESS. If they think that threatening Russia with getting kicked out of World Trade Organisation then we deserve to loose their oil ,gas and whatever. Let them deal with it. Seems to me that alot of other countries are dealing with intellectual properties within their own borders. The United States doesnt need to get involved with this.

[ROF]

I highly doubt the US congress or anyone for that matter would consider this proposal. Most of the countries involved in piracy are former USSR countries which no longer fall under Russian control anyways. Besides Russia has more pressing issues to deal with then some US music industry losing money. In case no one has read the news Russia is fighting terrorism on their soil and the soil of those countries which neighbor it. The US needs to leave it's shores in order to fight most terrorism battles. But that's politics, so I guess I'll not discuss that here.

I just don't see this going anywhere let alone the WTO.

[adam]

You simply cannot take anything reported at the inquirer.net seriously. It is not a news source, it is a propoganda machine. They take what are essentially non-stories and twist them around into ammunition against big business. They intentionally misquote and mislead and insert their own editorial comments into articles and even OTHER people's quotations to make it seem as if they were said by someone with authority. This little article is case in point.

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

Obviously the RIAA or the US are not going to get Russia thrown out of the WTO because Russia is NOT EVEN A MEMBER!

Getting a "bill sponsored" is a completely meaningless statement unless you know what the bill says and in this case the bill is for the submission of a WTO Resolution. This is not some big bad law that is going to get "Russia Struck." These are the formal summissions that WTO members make to other WTO members to alert them to their concerns. They are ALWAYS submitted to that country's legislative body by private businesses or interest groups such as the RIAA, MPAA, etc... because that is the whole point of the WTO, to regulate trade among specific industries. And the submissions of course are always going from that country to all the other countries, so its not like the US is overstepping its bounds by filing this document. That is how the WTO system works. This year hundreds of other such resolutions regarding dozens of other industries were filed by other countries as well. There is nothing sinister or manipulative about it.

Russia is being considered for WTO membership. If accepted they would be required to abide by the TRIPS agreement which means they would have to impose minimum copyright standards and recognize and enforce those copyright laws of other WTO member countries including the US. This Resolution being filed by the US, assuming the bill passes, is a suggestion to other WTO countries that they should not approve Russia for WTO membership unless it can show that it is capable of abiding by such international treaties. That's all this means.

[CaptainVideo]

As I was reading it the first thing that popped into my mind was "Doesn't Russia have to get into the WTO first?".

And once/if they do, allofmp3 will be shut down immediately. The only reason it operates is because Russia does not care about copyrights at all. But they will have to if they ever want to get into the WTO. While China has huge piracy problems even they at least try to do something about it even if it is just to get some press.

[drjtech]

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

No, that is not what the RIAA newsletter says at all. As much as I dislike the RIAA I dislike distorting the facts even more. There is a major distinction between a bill and a resolution, and the RIAA is not even claiming credit for introducing the resolution.

http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/122205.asp

RIAA Lauds Senate Passage Of Measure To Stop Russian Intellectual Property Theft

WASHINGTON, DC – [Early this morning, the U.S. Senate passed a very important resolution stressing that the Russian Federation must provide effective protection of intellectual property rights or risk not being accepted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and losing its eligibility to participate in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. The same resolution, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on November 16, 2005, is intended to help ensure that the Russian Federation adopts and enforces aggressive laws, policies and practices against intellectual property piracy. In response, the Recording Industry Association of America issued the following statement from Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol.]

“With the passage of this resolution in the Senate, the entire U.S. Congress has made clear that the Russian government must significantly step up the fight against piracy as a condition for both its acceptance into the WTO and for receiving preferential trade benefits from the United States.

“The U.S.-Russia relationship must be built upon a mutual understanding of shared obligations and the application of the rule of law. The effective protection of American intellectual property has been sorely lacking in Russia. This resolution is significant because it expresses the will of the U.S. Congress that Russia must take effective action against those who would steal America’s knowledge-intensive intellectual property-based goods and services. We must not enter into political arrangements with countries ill-prepared to adequately protect our greatest economic assets.

“We are especially grateful for the leadership and steadfast commitment to the protection of intellectual property demonstrated by Senators Lugar, Biden, Hatch, Leahy, Grassley and Baucus on this issue of critical importance to our industry. We look forward to working with the U.S. and Russian governments in the coming weeks and months to achieve the progress that is so desperately needed.”

[Sabro]

Why doesn't the RIAA just bulk mail Russia about 30 million john doe law suits?




Sabro

[GullyFoyle]

I'm sorry but a careful reading of the following

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

The RIAA wants Russia to know that unless it submits to its demands to stop acting as a safe haven for pirates then there is no chance of it getting decent trading conditions with the US.

does in fact agree with this

"With the passage of this resolution in the Senate, the entire U.S. Congress has made clear that the Russian government must significantly step up the fight against piracy as a condition for both its acceptance into the WTO and for receiving preferential trade benefits from the United States.

At no point is it claimed that Russia is a member of the WTO, but that Russia will be thrown out if they do not comply.
In fact the story if truthful and factual despite what some here claim.

[GullyFoyle]

As for the Bill issue
http://www.techimo.com/newsapp/index.pl?photo=15532

The Recording Industry Association of America is lobbying Washington to sponsor a Senate bill that would seek removal of Russia from the World Trade Organization if the nation does not take immediate action to crack down on rampant copyright privacy within its borders.

The RIAA wants Russia to know that unless it submits to its demands to stop acting as a safe haven for pirates then there is no chance of it getting decent trading conditions with the US. RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol said that the U.S.-Russia relationship must be built upon a mutual understanding of shared obligations and the application of the rule of law.

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/26/2234212&from=rss

Conor Turton writes to tell us that the RIAA has set their sights on Russia for their newest push into anti-piracy. A recent bill was sponsored in the Senate to deny Russia's entrance into the WTO (among other things) if they did not take major action against piracy. From the press release: "The effective protection of American intellectual property has been sorely lacking in Russia. This resolution is significant because it expresses the will of the U.S. Congress that Russia must take effective action against those who would steal America's knowledge-intensive intellectual property-based goods and services. We must not enter into political arrangements with countries ill-prepared to adequately protect our greatest economic assets."

In reality the RIAA may actually have sponsored a bill and ended up as a resolution or precursor to a bill.

[dvdguy4]

Since when does the RIAA make bills within the congress or senate. Like I said before who's really running this country nowadays?

[gadgetguy]

If you want a bill introduced in congress, your best bet is to write the bill yourself and present it to your congressional representative. The bill will probably get some minor revisions before it is actually introduced, but your rep. is more likely to accept a pre-written bill, rather than having to write one based on an idea presented by a constituant.

[drjtech]

I'm sorry but a careful reading of the following

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

The RIAA wants Russia to know that unless it submits to its demands to stop acting as a safe haven for pirates then there is no chance of it getting decent trading conditions with the US.

does in fact agree with this

"With the passage of this resolution in the Senate, the entire U.S. Congress has made clear that the Russian government must significantly step up the fight against piracy as a condition for both its acceptance into the WTO and for receiving preferential trade benefits from the United States.

At no point is it claimed that Russia is a member of the WTO, but that Russia will be thrown out if they do not comply.
In fact the story if truthful and factual despite what some here claim.

If you are refering my post concerning the non-factual nature of the article, I see that you cleverly added a second paragraph to the text I quoted, and then defended the new second paragraph as factual while ignoring the original paragraph.

Show me where, in the RIAA newsletter, they claim to have introduced a bill (or even a resolution) in the Senate?

The RIAA does enough mean, spiteful and boneheaded things on their own that we don't need to misrepresent the facts to find another reason to dislike them.

-drj

[adam]

The RIAA obviously has no authority to introduce anything to the Senate. Naturally, Russia cannot get "booted out of the WTO" if they are not yet a member, and a resolution has no authority to do anything its simply the method that countries use to make recommendations to the WTO.

The article is garbage and so is everything else on that site. The RIAA doesn't need help creating bad press. Sites like theinquirer just take advantage of people who are too stupid to think for themselves. So don't let them.

Just ignore sources like this.

[GullyFoyle]

The RIAA obviously has no authority to introduce anything to the Senate. Naturally, Russia cannot get "booted out of the WTO" if they are not yet a member, and a resolution has no authority to do anything its simply the method that countries use to make recommendations to the WTO.

The article is garbage and so is everything else on that site. The RIAA doesn't need help creating bad press. Sites like theinquirer just take advantage of people who are too stupid to think for themselves. So don't let them.

Just ignore sources like this.

I guess you didn't bother to READ the ARTICLES (more than one) did you?
The RIAA can have access to senators and congressmen who will introduce legislation. Pretty clear that RIAA represents special interests. The BIG MONEY special interests congress FAWNS all over.
It isn't as if congress NEVER passes protections for big business, right?
You can't be that naive about how government and special interests work hand in glove, can you? Maybe you just never bother to follow the news.

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

This means that if Russia doesn't comply and enters the WTO they would be thrown out. If Russia pretends to comply and then proves not to they would THEN be ejected.
Pretty clear.

[GullyFoyle]

Show me where, in the RIAA newsletter, they claim to have introduced a bill (or even a resolution) in the Senate?

The RIAA does enough mean, spiteful and boneheaded things on their own that we don't need to misrepresent the facts to find another reason to dislike them.

-drj

So magic elves came to sleeping congressmen and senators and whispered " Punish the Russian pirates, bot the villians from the WTO if they become members". And that was how the resolution came about?
You know big media applied pressure to make this happen. They threw some campaign money to the sniveling dogs for legislation to go their way.
This happens all the time.
As far as the thing about the second paragraph, that came from the same article. So I'm a little confused what you mean?
Unless you are cherry picking quotes.

Comments on tha action found other places
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/26/2234212&from=rss

rom the biting-off-more-than-you-can-chew dept.
Software Politics
Conor Turton writes to tell us that the RIAA has set their sights on Russia for their newest push into anti-piracy. A recent bill was sponsored in the Senate to deny Russia's entrance into the WTO (among other things) if they did not take major action against piracy. From the press release: "The effective protection of American intellectual property has been sorely lacking in Russia. This resolution is significant because it expresses the will of the U.S. Congress that Russia must take effective action against those who would steal America's knowledge-intensive intellectual property-based goods and services. We must not enter into political arrangements with countries ill-prepared to adequately protect our greatest economic assets."

That address entry SPECIFICALLY.
http://battleangel.org/

Seems some people are taking their holiday seriously. Corporations using the US government to do their bidding, under the pretence of "American intellectual property." As if it belonged to ALL Americans and as if infringement meant destroying everything American. I only wish we could rid ourselves of them that easily.

The Inquirer - RIAA asks US to strike Russia - THE RECORDING Industry of America (RIAA) is leaning on the US Senate to take tough action against Russia over music and software piracy in that country.

According to its newsletter, here, the RIAA has managed to get a bill sponsored in the Senate that will get Russia thrown out of the World Trade Organisation if it doesn’t conduct a purge against pirates.

The RIAA wants Russia to know that unless it submits to its demands to stop acting as a safe haven for pirates then there is no chance of it getting decent trading conditions with the US.

Better yet, how about Russia quitting the WTO and forming their own organization with China, Iran and the other nations that aren't good enough or simply unwanted.

So what they're saying here is that the US can get anyone thrown out of the WTO. Big talk. So much for the pretence that the WTO is a multilateral organization that builds upon the hopes and desires of all its members. Thanks for debunking that myth RIAA, as if I was ever a believer.

The fair thing to do would be to enforce sanctions on the US for acting as a safe haven for organizations like the RIAA.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=15889

Early morning of Dec 22, 2005, the U.S. Senate passed a very important resolution stressing that the Russian Federation must provide effective protection of intellectual property rights.

Otherwise, it risks not being accepted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and losing its eligibility to participate in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

The same resolution, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on November 16, 2005, is intended to help ensure that the Russian Federation adopts and enforces aggressive laws, policies and practices against intellectual property piracy. In response, the Recording Industry Association of America issued the following statement from Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol.]

?With the passage of this resolution in the Senate, the entire U.S. Congress has made clear that the Russian government must significantly step up the fight against piracy as a condition for both its acceptance into the WTO and for receiving preferential trade benefits from the United States.

?The U.S.-Russia relationship must be built upon a mutual understanding of shared obligations and the application of the rule of law. The effective protection of American intellectual property has been sorely lacking in Russia. This resolution is significant because it expresses the will of the U.S. Congress that Russia must take effective action against those who would steal America?s knowledge-intensive intellectual property-based goods and services. We must not enter into political arrangements with countries ill-prepared to adequately protect our greatest economic assets.

?We are especially grateful for the leadership and steadfast commitment to the protection of intellectual property demonstrated by Senators Lugar, Biden, Hatch, Leahy, Grassley and Baucus on this issue of critical importance to our industry. We look forward to working with the U.S. and Russian governments in the coming weeks and months to achieve the progress that is so desperately needed.?

http://p2pnet.net/story/7291

Hollywood threatens Russia

p2p news / p2pnet: "With a flourish of his wand, teenage magician Harry Potter could put a curse on Russia’s chances of landing a seat in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) next year."

This flip observation comes from a Reuters story which goes on, "The United States is one of a handful of countries left whose approval Russia needs if it is to join, and one of three big issues stalling the two countries’ talks is the widespread piracy in Russia of US-made films, music and software."

It fails to point out that forcing the Cheney/Bush administration on are the Big Seven movie studios, fronted by their MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America).

As MPAA boss Dan 'Jedi' Glickman promised recently, "The MPAA is working aggressively to root out piracy in all corners of the globe so that unfortunate events driven by this illegal activity are halted and the public is made safer."

"Delegations from the 148 WTO countries will gather in Hong Kong on Tuesday to thrash out global trade rules, but on the sidelines Russia - the biggest economy still not a member - will be locked in talks on its entry to the trade club," says Reuters. And, "On a shelf in a Moscow shop is evidence of the problem: a DVD of Warner Bros Pictures’ latest blockbuster featuring the boy wizard, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'."

"The studio has not released the film on DVD anywhere in the world, and its Russian cinema premiere is not until December 22. Yet at Moscow’s Savyolovsky train station, a grainy copy of the film was openly on sale for 100 roubles ($3.45).

The story says, "Russia has been negotiating WTO membership for about a decade. If it fails to wrap up a deal with the United States and others in Hong Kong, it will miss its target of joining the WTO next year, pushing back entry to 2007, Russian officials say.

"There are three main sticking points: barriers to foreign aircraft makers; access to Russia’s financial services market; and the theft of intellectual property, including films."

Piracy may hinder Russia’s WTO bid, says the Reuters headline.

However, it should of course read, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (The Walt Disney Company), Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios LLLP and Warner Bros Entertainment Inc, and through them, the MPAA may hinder Russia’s WTO bid.

Meanwhile, predictably, "The problem we face in Russia is getting worse, not better,” Glickman is quoted as saying.

Clearly those other article interpret as Russia not being allowed into the WTO. Which in fact equates wih "kicked out".
Either way there is enough there to prove that through the US congress the RIAA is applying pressure on Russia to curn "piracy".
Which in fact makes the original article nearly right on the money.

[luvvbuzz]

If you want a bill introduced in congress, your best bet is to write the bill yourself and present it to your congressional representative. The bill will probably get some minor revisions before it is actually introduced, but your rep. is more likely to accept a pre-written bill, rather than having to write one based on an idea presented by a constituant.

yer and make sure you offer a few hundred million dollars to the political party presently in power. corporate business runs the world now, didnt you know?