A Workshop On Intellectual Property Rights. European companies call on fighting against counterfeits.
E031008Z5 Nov. 2003（E48）
The workshop on Intellectual Property Rights was held for the first time yesterday (Oct. 7, 2003) by Taiwan and Europe after they reciprocally set up the Economic and Commercial Offices in each other’s country. The participants included nearly 20 expert scholars and official representatives from Taiwan, Hong Kong and European Union. In the workshop, the committee chairman of European Council of Commerce and Trade, John Eastwood stated that at a preliminary estimate, the yearly loss caused to European companies due to the infringement of Intellectual Property Rights by Taiwan industries amounted to millions of Euros. The industries suffering most from the infringement include recording, delicate goods, liquor and technology companies, which should be given more concern.
The representative of IFPI, Iain Grant delivered a speech on “How do Taiwan music industry fight against the piracy phenomenon? ”. He pointed out that one out of three records sold out was pirated. Besides, among the ten piracy-rampant countries, Taiwan, Spain, Poland, Thailand and Mainland China were all included. The piracy rate is serious year by year. The output value of the piracy in Taiwan last year amounted to US$ 46,000,000. Furthermore, Grant also indicated that there were 7,600,000,000 blank CDs produced last year in Taiwan, 30 times higher than the basic demand of Taiwan. The blank CDs were circulated into other countries under the condition of output surplus. 80% of the blank CDs utilized in the piracy and uncovered by IFPI were manufactured in Taiwan.
