RIAA commends US Korea decision
President George W. Bush, ambassador Robert B. Zoellick and indeed, the entire US administration, will be delighted.
Why’s that?
Because Neil Turkewitz, RIAA executive vp for International [International 'what' the RIAA doesn't exactly say - Ed] has given them a hearty pat on the back for a good job well done, having moved Korea to Priority Watch List "Because of Piracy Concerns".
"Online piracy of recorded music is rampant in Korea and has had a devastating impact on our industry already, significantly decreasing sales for international and local repertoire alike," says an RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) puff piece here.
"Incomprehensibly, Korea has thus refused to provide the legal tools necessary for the recording industry to fight back. Hopefully USTR’s announcement today will lead to action by Korea enabling our members to do so."
Incomprehensibly. Yes.
"Korea’s failure to enact modern copyright legislation in this area creates a significant imbalance between its ultra-sophisticated communication mediums – indeed, Korea has the highest broadband penetration in the world and it has inadequate protection of the content that flows over such networks," spouts Turkewitz.
"We look to Korea to quickly close this gap."
So Watch it Korea ! The RIAA has its eye on you !!
In the meanwhile, all’s well that ends well and Turkewitz isn’t going to be mean-minded about it.
"I strongly commend Ambassador Zoellick, his able Korea team, and the entire Administration for today’s forceful action to promote the effective protection of intellectual property on a global basis," he says.
"Ambassador Zoellick correctly recognizes that the information age would be meaningless in the absence of protection of ‘information,’ and has demonstrated his resolve to maintain and promote American competitiveness by ensuring the fair treatment of America’s most valuable assets."
Zoellick, a member of president Bush’s cabinet with the rank of ambassador, serves as principal trade policy adviser and chief trade negotiator. He’ll be glad to know Turkewitz approves of him.
Way to go, Bob.
May 10th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
The strong arm of the RIAA in trying to suggest that online piracy has “had a devastating impact on our industry… significantly decreasing sales for international and local repertoire alike” is a huge misrepresentation. As a Canadian expatriate living in South Korea, I can put a rather unique perspective on the issue. You can’t go out and buy a CD or DVD at your local HMV or Tower Records or Blockbuster video… BECAUSE THEY DON’T EXIST HERE! South Korea doesn’t have a market for such commodities because the product isn’t available and neither are outlets who supply and sell such items. Sure… sales are low in Korea, not because of piracy, but due to unavailability of product. So the next time the RIAA or the MPAA complains about somebody in Korea downloading copyrighted materials “illegally”, ask them why I have to wait a year and a half for a movie that was released in North America to come here or why I have to travel to Japan to buy their products. It’s comparing apples to oranges and outright propaganda on behalf of the cartels… don’t be duped!