Calls for Canada to be placed on USTR’s piracy watch list

The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has recommended Canada be placed on the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) watch list in its “2017 Special 301 Report”.  

A private sector coalition of trade associations representing US copyright-based industries, the IIPA submitted its recommendation as part of comments to the USTR for its report.

The annually-published report reviews IP protection and enforcement abroad, and identifies challenges facing America’s innovative and creative industries in overseas markets.

Canada is one of eight countries that the IIPA recommended be placed on the watch list. The other countries are: Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates.

“From the perspective of the copyright industries, the report card on Canadian copyright modernisation is decidedly mixed,” said the IIPA.

The alliance said that despite Canada’s legal environment becoming less attractive to “multinational online piracy operations”, online infringement remains “widespread” in Canada.

The infringement hampers the growth of the legitimate digital marketplace and circumvention devices, and services remain readily available, especially online, claimed the IIPA.

Major online piracy operations are still resident in Canada, said the IIPA, including BitTorrent sites Sumotorrent.sx and Seedpeer.eu, and hybrid cloud storage services.

The alliance also recommended eight countries be placed on the USTR’s priority watch list: Chile, China, India, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam.

Being placed on the lists indicates that problems exist in that country surrounding IP protection, enforcement or market access for entities relying on IP.

Members of the IIPA include the Association of American Publishers, Entertainment Software Association, Independent Film & Television Alliance, Motion Picture Association of America, and Recording Industry Association of America.