[Challenges A Scope for Intellectual Property in South Asia Specially India and Bangladesh]

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Challenges A Scope For Intellectual Property in South Asia

Specially India And Bangladesh

Conclusion

G1obalization of the world's economy has opened new, international markets to North American businesses. The "Asian Tigers"--China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand-- are particularly attractive. This is because their booming economies have seen growth rates of up to 10.2 percent, compared with Canada's 2.2 percent and the United States' 2 percent, in 1995. These Asian countries, however, have the world's worst records for copyright piracy and other intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements.

Trademark Protection. Improvements in legislation have alleviated most concerns regarding trademark law in Southeast Asia, but enforcement is still a serious problem in some countries. In Thailand, where infringement is common, the legal process remains time-consuming and expensive. In the Philippines, trademark counterfeiting is widespread. In Korea, local companies have been permitted to register trademarks similar to foreign-owned marks while the foreign marks were denied registration.

In civil law countries, the first person to register a trademark is usually awarded it. This can work against a North American company that owns a strong trademark. If some other party registers the mark first in a country, that party. Can forever block its use there by the North American firm. It may also expose the company to "greenmail," in which the foreign owner forces the North American company to pay a fee to use its own trademark.

Copyright. In spite of major efforts to raise copyright laws to international standards, numerous shortfalls remain. Copyright infringement is by far the most common--and most serious-- violation of IPR in the region. China and Thailand are the worst offenders in the audio-visual and software arenas, while pirating of copyrighted foreign textile designs in Indonesia and Korea is a new problem. China has improved substantially under recent U.S. pressure, though much room for improvement remains.

International pressure has pushed most countries in the region to enact IPR legislation. However, many fail to enforce it. In spite of new laws, China has particularly poor IPR protection because it has not yet established effective methods of dealing with infringements. The situation has improved recently, though, with the Chinese government openly cracking down on IPR violators. Many factors influence piracy, including the large number of import restrictions and the fact that many government ministries have a stake in supporting piracy. For instance, pirates from Taiwan have moved into southern China in the guise of investors to take advantage of economic development incentives.

Lawlessness compounds problems with IPR piracy, smuggling, and other illegal behavior. A huge gray market has sprung up outside state-controlled sectors. There are 26 CD and laser disc factories in central and southern China manufacturing 50 million pirated CDs annually for export to Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and, recently, Canada. Similarly, Thailand is still home to many copyright pirates. Although enforcement efforts have been stepped up, violators suspend operations temporarily if a police raid is anticipated. Inconsistent application of IPR laws has resulted in ...