Press Release

[Index]      

Geneva, 8 April 2004 - The use by criminals of the Internet is creating significant economic problems for enterprises in the ECE region as well as putting at risk the benefits that can come from the new Information Society.

This was one of the main issues that emerged from a two-day conference on ‘Intellectual Property Exploitation in the Internet Era’, organized by the Polish Ministry of Culture and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Intellectual Property Advisory Group in Warsaw, Poland, on 1-2 April 2004.

Enterprises in affected industries are downsizing and jobs are being lost. Governments too are suffering as result of reduced revenues from taxation. Of key concern are the new technologies, such as broadband, which are making the illegal downloading of CDs much easier. Europe’s music and media industries are amongst the main ones, which are suffering. At the same time, the solutions are not easy to find.

Speaking at this event, the Polish Secretary of State at the Ministry of Culture, Mr. Michal Tober, stated “this conference on Internet issues is timely for Poland and other accession countries given the pace of global technological advances. In addition, Poland believes that cooperation between the public and private sector is essential in addressing these issues and this conference provides such an opportunity.“

Mr. Geoffrey Hamilton, UNECE Senior Economic Affairs Officer, said that “it is necessary to bear in mind that the losers are not just large multinational companies but many young musicians forced out of work because they cannot make a living from their recorded music.”

Participants from Governments, Private Sector and from academia attended the Conference. Representatives from the World Intellectual Property Organization, the European Union, and industry anti-piracy associations and INTERPOL also attended.

Amongst the new regulations, which were highlighted, was the new EU Enforcement Directive on Intellectual Property Rights. This new Directive takes forward the TRIPS agreement and for the first time combines copyright related rights and industrial property rights. Delegations emphasized the need to implement new regulations such as the new Directive and referred to the extra costs that would have to be borne for this to be done effectively.

Overall, the main conclusion was that more attention needed to be paid to face this challenge. In particular, action was required in the following three areas:

• Tighter regulations and better enforcement of existing as well as new regulations;
• Greater education amongst national and international policy makers, industry and consumers on the importance of intellectual property for the Information Society;
• Improved cooperation between the public and private sector.

The Conference was co-sponsored by the Polish Ministry of Culture and the UNECE Intellectual Property Advisory Group, with support from the Anti-Piracy Coalition of Poland and the Wardynski Law Firm.

The UNECE Intellectual Advisory Group for the Protection and Implementation of Intellectual Property Rights for Investment will continue to monitor and discuss these issues, providing a platform for cooperation between business and governments and working in close cooperation with WIPO and the European Union. The Advisory Group is co-chaired by the Government of Poland, the United States and Switzerland. It operates under the auspices of the UNECE Working Party on International Legal and Commercial Practices (WP.5).

For further information please contact:

Geoffrey Hamilton
Senior Economic Affairs Officer
UNECE Industrial Restructuring, Energy and Enterprise Development Division
Palais des Nations, Office 433
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41(0)22 917 28 38
Fax: +41(0)22 917 01 78
E-mail: [email protected]

Ref: ECE/IREEDD/04/P04