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NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The International Intellectual Property Alliance says the U.S. book industry lost an estimated $606 million to overseas copyright pirates in 2005.
The figure -- nearly identical to 2004 -- was contained in the IIPA's annual report to the U.S. Trade Representative, Publishers Weekly said on its Web site Tuesday.
The IIPA said all copyrighted intellectual property -- including films, books and music -- exceeded $15.8 billion in losses last year.
Despite improved enforcement in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Asia continues to be a piracy hot spot, Association of American Publishers President Pat Schroeder said.
"Even where enforcement is at least partially effective, court delays remain, especially in countries such as India and the Philippines," Schroeder said.
"Legal developments in Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea and elsewhere continue to deny effective protection to book publishers, and enforcement mechanisms so effective for other industries in countries such as Pakistan have not yet been employed against book pirates."
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
