A new take on piracy

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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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