Trademark Counterfeiting, Product Piracy, and the Billion Dollar Threat to the U.S. Economy - Hardcover

Paradise, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1567202500 ISBN 13: 9781567202502

Publisher: Praeger, 1999

Synopsis

Called the business crime wave of the 21st century, trademark counterfeiting and product piracy are worldwide in scope and cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars every year. High technology and the globalization of business have made it possible to counterfeit and pirate a seemingly limitless number of products, from t-shirts, designer jeans, films and books to auto and airplane parts, and prescription drugs. The 1995-1996 trade dispute between the U.S. and China shows how serious the problem has become for American business and for U.S. diplomatic relations. Paradise explores the history of counterfeiting and piracy, shows how they are done, and the strategies that U.S. businesses are using to combat them. With interviews, commentary, and anecdotes by corporate attorneys, business leaders, and private investigators, this well-written book is essential for anyone interested in the damage that violations of intellectual property law are inflicting on world trade and what is being done to stop it.

Called the business crime wave of the 21st century, trademark counterfeiting and product piracy are worldwide in scope and cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars every year. High technology and the globalization of business have made it possible to counterfeit and pirate a seemingly limitless number of products, from t-shirts, designer jeans, films and books to auto and airplane parts, and prescription drugs. The 1995-1996 trade dispute between the U.S. and China shows how serious the problem has become for American business and for U.S. diplomatic relations. Paradise explores the history of counterfeiting and piracy, shows how they are done, and the strategies that U.S. businesses are using to combat them. With interviews, commentary, and anecdotes by corporate attorneys, business leaders, and private investigators, this well-written book is essential for anyone interested in the damage that violations of intellectual property law are inflicting on world trade and what is being done to stop it.

Paradise lays out the problem in Chapter 1 with a clear explanation of the differences between trademarks, copyrights, and patents, and the laws covering each. In Chapter 2 he looks at the role played by organized crime, gray market goods, the lack of intellectual property laws, and ultimately the threat to U.S. business. He discusses the recent investigations and disputes with China, and its aftermath throughout Southeast Asia. Chapter 4 focuses on the knockoff, chapter 5 on street peddlers and flea markets (and how merchants are retaliating), and chapter 6 on the tracking of counterfeiters. The entertainment industries and the pharmaceutical industries are then closely examined. He follows with equally comprehensive (and chilling) studies of automobile and aircraft parts counterfeiting and piracy in cyberspace. Paradise ends with a look at what is being done to counteract the inroads that piracy and counterfeiting have made into the global economy, and offers a provocative call for more and better efforts in the future.

About this title

About the Author

PAUL R. PARADISE is a journalist and a freelance writer on a variety of topics, particularly the law and law enforcement./e A frequent contributor to law enforcement periodicals, and a staff writer for T.F.H. Publications, he was formerly an editor for a major publisher of law and law-related materials.

Reviews

In today's high-tech world, pirates no longer roam the seas in search of bounty. Instead, they work all over the world, misusing official trademarks, peddling inexpensive "knock-offs" of well-known brands, and selling inferior counterfeit products (all of which resulted, in 1995, in an estimated $200 billion loss to the U.S. economy). Paradise, a freelance electronics, law, and entertainment journalist, here collects articles (many previously published) on global piracy. In one, he delivers a fascinating first-hand account of the U.S.-China trade dispute and the negotiations that prevented a U.S. trade embargo against China; in another, he focuses on a private investigator working to counter the counterfeiters. A chapter on the impact of cyberspace nicely updates this otherwise disjointed assortment of stand-alone pieces. As geopolitical barriers to trade are increasingly dismantled, this book will continue to be a useful reference for law or business collections.ADale F. Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1567202500
• ISBN 13: 9781567202502
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288