Digital Media in Asia Blog

Digital TV broadcasts for mobile phones equipped with special receivers began in Japan’s major urban areas Saturday, following several months of test broadcasts.

Japan has proposed a Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Counterfeits and Pirated Goods, which would focus on the import, export and transshipment of illegal goods. One significant way the new treaty would differ from TRIPS (the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, regulated by the WTO) is that Japan’s proposed treaty would focus on stopping exports of infringing goods, while TRIPS primarily addresses the importation of infringing goods. The treaty is meant to supplement, rather than supplant, TRIPS. The treaty would also “aim to deter counterfeits and pirated goods on the Internet.” According to the posting, it is unclear which international body would regulate the proposed treaty, but Japan is hoping it would be regulated by an international law enforcement organization such as Interpol or the World Customs Organization.

The article notes that the US (which, incidentally, originally sought an anti-counterfeiting treaty as early as the 1970s) is cool to Japan’s proposal. It quotes a US official as saying, ‘”We applaud the energy that Japan brings to this issue’…. However, the United States is more focused on implementation of anti-counterfeiting measures ‘right now,’ targeting ‘action and results.'”