From albertocerdasilva at gmail.com Fri Jan 27 04:34:58 2012 From: albertocerdasilva at gmail.com (Alberto Cerda) Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:34:58 -0500 Subject: [CopySouth] Cost/Benefit of copyright In-Reply-To: References: <4F19D4FF.6010502@congresolibre.org> <2EA6D63AE264BA4EA1CA3E63B8850AC26F9CA4F425@MAPI.ad.kent.ac.uk> <2EA6D63AE264BA4EA1CA3E63B8850AC26F9CA4F435@MAPI.ad.kent.ac.uk> Message-ID: Following the issue of Quirilo's e-mail I am just right in a conference in the Organization of American States. It is a presentation on the copyright contribution to the economies of around 30 countries. According to the study "copyright industries make up 5.4% of GDP and represent 5.9% of national employment on average". Therefore, we should push for higher protection and enforcement of copyright, according to the ambassador speaker. :-( The study, of course, does not tell any about the cost of adopting, stretching, and enforcing copyright. Therefore, it is as useless as other previous studies on the matter. What is the cost for developing countries on enforcing IP? What are the comparative disadvantages? What is the amount of income for develoing countries in sectors as movie production, software development, and so on? Study is silent at all. A little sad that the Organization of American States play this game, when several countries in the region have been playing a more "pro-development" agenda, such as Paraguay, Brazil, and Chile. A. 2012/1/24 Alberto Cerda > Reading Alan I remembered something. > It is a well known fact that Latinamerican countries do not take that much > advantages from copyright in software, neither movie nor music. However, > there is some industrial sector in books. And there we have some numbers. > This is the Report 2010 of > CERLACL, in which is posible to check how much of the exportation of book > are produced in Latam (2,7%) and Africa (0,3%). Instead Europe, the U.S., > and most recently also China control the international flow of books. Here > you can find the 2008 Report, > and check some progressions. > It is also interesting that the manufacturing capabilities of Latin > American countries vary significantly from one country to another. Brazil > produces around 45% of the total production of the region. Mexico, > Argentina, and Colombia contribute with another 10% each one. Peru and > Chile with less 5% each one, and so on. > Other important fact for your analysis, Quiliro, is the trading balance. > As you can check, the only country that get some small positive results is > Colombia. All other countries have a negative result, mainly as a result of > the importation of books from the U.S. and Spain. > All the best, > A. > > > > 2012/1/24 Alan Story > > > > Hi Quiliro: > > > > A few comments on your question. And I should add that I agree with the > comments of Diego, Alberto and Joost about the need to examine the > economics of North/South copyright as part of a bigger trade and global > economics picture. > > > > But looking here exclusively at the economics of copyright: > > > > 1) To my knowledge, there is no set of statistics that examines > international copyright revenue flows. Several years ago I e-mailed an > economist in New Zealand who specialises almost exclusively on the > economics of copyright and asked him where I could find such data, that is, > who gains and who loses economically re: copyright revenue flows. He > replied that he had no idea. I got the same response when I conducted a > phone interview last year with Carsten Fink, the chief economist of the > World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva, for a book that I am > writing. A rather strange answer given that WIPO keeps preaching the > benefits to the South if they further embrace IP systems, including > copyright. > > > > 2) In the past few years, WIPO has sponsored a few economic studies in > various countries in Asia which have tried to measure the revenue flows > INTO such countries from some types of locally-based so-called 'core > copyright-industries', such as software, publishing, films ,etc. That is, > they have measured the revenues that result from exports to outside the > country. But such studies are actually a nonsense if they do NOT also > measure the revenue flows OUT OF such countries, that is, revenues that go > out of the country ( and usually in foreign currencies) to pay for imports > of copyrighted goods. For example, if you do NOT count the revenues that > flow OUT OF Thailand to Microsoft or Apple, you might even be able to prove > how much revenue is earned by small Thai-based computing companies and then > claim: " see how much Thailand benefits from copyright in software!" It > would be somewhat like trying to prove how profitable a shoe story is by > ONLY adding up the revenues received from sales, but 'forgetting' to add up > how much it costs to purchase the shoes in the first place from a shoe > wholesaler. > > > > 3) A few years ago the UN agency UNCTAD did a study on global copyright > revenues to show how developing countries could benefit from IP systems. > Who was the top copyright exporter according to UNCTAD? China. Why? > Chinese-designed televisions are sold in many countries. So more nonsense. > I mean, how many books written by Chinese authors can you find in the > bookstores of Quito? Or how many Chinese-produced films are showing in > Quito cinemas this week? Or those in London or New York? > > > > 4) There could be more countries that do this, but I am only aware of > one country , namely Canada, which has conducted a proper statistical study > into the national costs AND benefits of copyright. And that was only vis a > vis the USA, the economic and cultural 'giant' just below Canada on the map > and a country which has had such a strong economic and cultoral influence , > that is, an imperial influence, on the country where I was born. > > > > 5) The International Monetary Fund does gather some economic stats on > trade flows in its balance of payments data series. It measures the > international flows in royalaties and licences, most of which is for IP > goods. But it does not break down these goods into separate categories for > patents or trade marks or copyright. So these are also of limited value for > your purposes. I look at this IMF info on pages 769-771 of my 2003 'Burn > Berne' article which you can find here ( > http://copysouth.org/portal/es/node/36) > > The IMF stats of 10 years ago show that only two countries in the world, > namely the US and the UK, were net exporters of IP ( that is, they SOLD > MORE IP goods than they BOUGHT from elsewhere.) At that time, no country in > the global South was a net exporter of IP. When I looked at some more > recent IMF balance of payments stats last year, nothing had changed. > > > > I hope that this is at least a bit of help. > > > > Saludos > > Alan > > > > Alan Story > > Reader in Intellectual Property Law > > Kent Law School > > University of Kent > > Canterbury Kent > > United Kingdom CT2 7NS > > acs3 at kent.ac.uk > > Phone: +44 (0)1227 823316 > > "If creativity is a field, copyright is the fence."- Canadian sound > artist John Oswald > > > > ________________________________________ > > From: copysouth-bounces at copysouth.org [copysouth-bounces at copysouth.org] > On Behalf Of Quiliro Ord??ez [quiliro at congresolibre.org] > > Sent: 20 January 2012 20:56 > > To: copysouth at copysouth.org > > Subject: [CopySouth] Cost/Benefit of copyright > > > > Hello mates. > > > > Will someone give some pointers about how to make a cost/benefit > > analisis of copyright for a given country. I would like to present this > > analisis to the people of my country. The losses based on less trade > > from other countries should be taken into account for retaliations of > > leaving Berne Treaty. > > > > Maybe making this analisis will convince people to press for anti > > copyright laws while taking care to protect freedom works from being > > undermined. (Freedom works base their power on copyright.) Another > > downside to take into account is the penetration of restrictive works of > > software (non-fre/privative/proprietary) because of the legality to copy > > them in case of abolition of copyright laws. > > > > Thanks for the input. > > > > Greetings, > > Quiliro > > > > _______________________________________________ > > CopySouth mailing list > > CopySouth at copysouth.org > > http://copysouth.org/mailman/listinfo/copysouth_copysouth.org > > _______________________________________________ > > CopySouth mailing list > > CopySouth at copysouth.org > > http://copysouth.org/mailman/listinfo/copysouth_copysouth.org > > > > > -- > Alberto J. Cerda Silva > -- Alberto J. Cerda Silva ------------ pr?xima parte ------------ Se ha borrado un adjunto en formato HTML... URL: