more on A new take on piracy

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Gerry Faulhaber <gerry-faulhaber () mchsi com>
Date: July 26, 2004 11:03:12 AM PDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] A new take on piracy

Dave [for IP if you wish]

When I visited the Soviet Union 16 years ago to discuss technology and
economics, I learned that there were no patents or copyrights; after 
all, if
there is no private property of any sort, how can there be intellectual
property?  All inventions were the property of the state.  Period.  I'm 
sure
that the factories in countries formerly under the dominance of the 
Soviets
received not only permission but direct orders to produce this weapon 
for
their armies.

Since then, Russia has no doubt attempted to implement an intellectual
property regime; even 16 years ago everyone knew this was a necessity.
However, it is difficult to see how the AK-47 Kalashnikov assault weapon
could be patented at this late date.  The weapon was invented shortly 
after
WWII, there was no attempt to enforce any intellectual property for this
product for 40 years, and it is now in the public domain.  How could Mr.
Kalashnikov hold a valid patent for this device?

The article states that the US is buying the weapons from Roumanian,
Bulgarian and Hungarian factories, factories which are likely to have 
been
producing them pre-1989 at Soviet direction.  Is Kalashnikov asserting 
these
factories no longer have the right to produce these weapons?  Under what
authority were those directions/permissions rescinded?

Sorry, Mikhail, this is one intellectual property story that doesn't 
wash.

Professor Gerald R. Faulhaber
Business and Public Policy Dept.
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>
To: "Ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 10:31 AM
Subject: [IP] A new take on piracy


> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
> Date: July 26, 2004 5:55:47 AM PDT
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: A new take on piracy
>
>  From today's New York Times:
>
> < snip >
>
> Bootlegged copies of new American movies - "King Arthur,'' "Troy'' and
> "Spider-Man 2'' - sell for $3. Photoshop CS, a $600 program in Western
> stores, fetches $2.75.
>
> Markets like this, found throughout Russia, have been a longstanding
> subject
> of diplomatic complaint. Washington contends Russian
> intellectual-property
> pirates cost the United States more than $1 billion a year.
>
> Now Russia is striking back. A Russian industry and product designer 
> are
> asserting that the United States has been abetting 
> intellectual-property
> pirates to suit its own needs, by directing copies of Russian
> merchandise
> around the world.
>
> The complaint is not about software or music. It makes no mention of
> movies
> or video games. It is about the Kalashnikov assault rifle, the most
> prolific
> firearm ever made.
>
> "We see a great number of products which are named after Kalashnikov, 
> my
> name,'' said Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, the weapon's original designer.
> "They
> are buying Kalashnikovs from other countries,'' he added.
>
> Since the collapses of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's
> army
> in Iraq, the United States has been purchasing or arranging the
> transfer of
> thousands of knockoffs of Kalashnikovs commonly referred to as AK-47's,
> to
> outfit new military and security forces in Kabul and Baghdad.
>
> < snip >
>
> These [pirated] rifles have not been made in Russia, where the arms
> industry
> holds patents for the weapon in several nations. Instead they have
> originated in weapons plants controlled by Eastern European states,
> each of
> which was a partner of Moscow's in Soviet days.
>
> < snip >
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/26/international/europe/26russ.html?
> hp=&pagew
> anted=print&position=
>
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