(In order to dispel current rumours of my death or alien abduction I thought I should post something here).

I read this news release from the Conference Board of Canada which bills itself as “The foremost independent, not-for-profit applied research organization in Canada”.

Here is the release in full:

Canada seen as the file-swapping capital of the world

OTTAWA, May 22 /CNW Telbec/ – Canada’s failure to strengthen intellectual
property rights (IPR) in the face of digital technology has given it an
unwelcome reputation as the file-swapping capital of the world. Stronger
intellectual property rights and enforcement are needed to protect new
knowledge and shore up Canada’s poor innovation record, according to a series
of Conference Board reports-released in advance of its May 29 conference
Intellectual Property Rights: Innovation and Commercialization in Turbulent
Times (http://www.conferenceboard.ca/conf/09-0120/default.aspx).

As a result of lax regulation and enforcement, internet piracy appears to
be on the increase in Canada. The estimated number of illicit downloads (1.3
billion) is 65 times higher than the number legal downloads (20 million),
mirroring the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s
conclusion that Canada has the highest per capita incidence of unauthorized
file-swapping in the world.

Canada has not ratified new global minimum standards of the World
Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) internet treaties, and the United
States has put Canada on notice for inadequate intellectual property
enforcement measures.

“Canada’s innovation performance has been dismal for decades, and the
role of intellectual property systems has received inadequate attention. If
Canada does not change its approach to intellectual property, its economic
outlook will suffer,” said Gilles Rhéaume, Vice-President, Public Policy at
the Conference Board.

“Intellectual property protection is the essential ingredient that allows
creators of knowledge to obtain value of their work without it being copied or
stolen. Canada is earning a reputation, one that is not to be envied, as the
file-swapping capital of the world.”

The Conference Board report, Creating Value and Stimulating Investment: A
Business-Level Assessment of the Role of Intellectual Property
(http://www.conferenceboard.ca/documents.aspx?did=3053), recommends increased
emphasis on enforcement of IPR regimes. These include: strengthening current
IPR protection legislation, giving Canadian Border Services Agency greater
authority to deal with counterfeit and pirated goods, combating intellectual
property crimes and educating enterprises and consumers about the negative
effects of counterfeiting.

In the report Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Economy
(http://www.conferenceboard.ca/documents.aspx?did=3054), the Conference Board
puts forward a multi-pronged approach to IPR. Canada should ratify the WIPO
internet treaties, while it encourages collaborative structures that protect
the copyrights of creators and allow new knowledge to be accessed legally.

The third report, National Innovation Performance and Intellectual
Property Rights: A Comparative Analysis
(http://www.conferenceboard.ca/documents.aspx?did=3050), looks at the leading
innovative countries and compares their IPR systems with that of Canada. All
three reports on intellectual property rights are publicly available at
www.e-library.ca.

For further information: Brent Dowdall, Media Relations, (613) 526-3090
ext. 448, corpcomm@conferenceboard.ca

I don’t want to state personally what my thoughts are on this topic as I am interested in what my readers have to say about this. Please leave a comment and mention if you are in Canada or not. After there have been some comments I will chime in with my opinion.