RIAA and IIPA Report on Intellectual Property Theft

The Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) and the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) have announced that they are stepping up efforts fighting piracy in China and issued a report naming over 60 more countries involved in this practice. The report was filed to the U.S. government under the "Special 301" trade law, which identifies countries that present major copyright issues for businesses. Countries can be impacted in serious ways, including sanctions for those labeled as Priority Foreign Countries.The IIPA has asked the government to name Russia, Pakistan and Ukraine as Priority Countries.

The IIPA reports that U.S. copyright-based industries lost $13.4 billion because of international piracy in 2004. Globally, businesses may have lost between $25-30 billion, and this estimate does not factor in Internet piracy.

The IIPA suggests 15 more countries be placed on the Priority Watch List as well.