WHY IPR SHOULD MATTER TO GEORGIA
According to copyright and property right specialists, Georgia is one of the most progressive countries in the region regarding intellectual property rights protection (IPRP). They point to the country’s law on patents and the treaties it has signed as members of the World Trade Organization and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
On paper, Georgia is a fervent defender of property rights of all kinds – physical and intellectual. The problem is those rights are not protected in fact.
According to WIPO, the Georgian government has joined/signed over a dozen international treaties and accords on intellectual property rights over the past 11 years. The government has also, according to WIPO and the International Intellectual Property Alliance, passed the necessary legislation to implement its obligations under the treaties and other agreements.
Those treaties – which cover everything from industrial property to artistic works and recordings – are the basis for international intellectual property rights protection. Signatories take on the responsibility to follow international standards regarding the documentation and protection of copyrighted, trademarked and patented ownership rights.
In 2005, the government made further process – in legislation – to harmonize Georgia’s laws with EU standards on intellectual property rights and protection.
What Georgia has not done, however, is give the country’s law enforcement bodies – both customs officials and police – the mandate to enforce those laws according to international standards and best practices.
Law enforcement in Georgia lacks ex officio authority. This mandate, which allows authorities to take action against perceived IPR violations without first obtaining a complaint from the right holder, is a vital part of the international standard for fighting copyright and trademark infringement.
Without this authority, blatant – and rampant – abuse of intellectual property exists in Georgia, according to the International Intellectual Property Right Alliance (IIPA) – a US based coalition of trade associations that represent seven member associations including the Business Software Alliance, the Motion Picture Association of America, and the Recording Industry Association of America.
In a 2005 report, IIPA issued a “special mention” of Georgia that highlighted the deficiencies in the country’s implementation of intellectual property rights protection. IIPA stressed the lack of ex officio authority as one of the major obstacles for fulfilling the country’s obligations.
According to their findings, an estimated 5.5 million pirated copies of sound recordings were sold in Georgia in 2004 – at an estimated loss of over $11 million for international rightholders.
Today the situation has not improved. According to a survey released last May by the Business Software Alliance, Georgia is the largest consumer of pirated software in the world. The report’s authors calculated that 95% of the software used in Georgia is counterfeit.
There are a lot of arguments for why Georgia should not enforce tougher rules, or regulations, for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection. There are advocates of libertarianism who argue that it is a violation of freedom; there are advocates of development who claim paying for software – or other copyrighted/trademarked goods -- will reduce the ability of the poor to improve their lives.
All of these arguments may hold some truth. But the fact remains that, by law, Georgia is required to enforce the treaties and international agreements it has signed. Organizations like WTO provide benefits – and responsibilities – to their members.
If the Georgian government is orientated toward the European Union, and the international market, the country must play by international rules. That includes the burden of ensuring that counterfeit and pirated goods have no place in the Georgian market.
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