International Intellectual Property Alliance
Encyclopedia
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), formed in 1984, is a private sector coalition of seven trade associations representing U.S. producers of content and materials protected by copyright laws, including computer software, films, television programs, music, books and journals (in both electronic and print media), with the aim of strengthening international protection and enforcement of copyright by working with U.S. government, foreign government and private sector representatives.

Activities

IIPA works closely with the U.S. Trade Representative in compiling the annual Special 301 reviews of foreign countries that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative considers to have inadequate protection of intellectual property rights. IIPA was the principal representative of the entertainment industry in assisting the U.S. government in the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

 (WTO) TRIPS negotiations, the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

 (NAFTA) negotiations, and at the Diplomatic Conference leading to the completion of the two World Intellectual Property Organization
World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....

 (WIPO) "Internet" treaties in 1996. IIPA has also worked with the U.S. government in drafting IPR chapters of recent Free Trade Agreements. It participates in policy developments in copyright and enforcement issues in bilateral and regional initiatives such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). IIPA participates in trade actions brought under trade laws, such as the Generalized System of Preferences
Generalized System of Preferences
The Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization ,...

 (GSP) and other trade preference programs . IIPA is a non-governmental organization at the WIPO.

Controversy

IIPA is asking the US government to consider the actions of countries mandating or suggesting open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 as a harmful act roughly equivalent to not combating piracy
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

. IIPA is urging the United States government to consider countries like Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 to be put on the Special 301 watchlist because of their use of open source software.

Member groups

  • Association of American Publishers
    Association of American Publishers
    The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP has more than 300 members, including most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly...

  • Business Software Alliance
    Business Software Alliance
    The Business Software Alliance is a trade group established in 1988 and representing a number of the world's largest software makers and is a member of the International Intellectual Property Alliance...

  • Entertainment Software Association
    Entertainment Software Association
    The Entertainment Software Association is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association and renamed on July 16, 2003...

  • Independent Film & Television Alliance
    Independent Film & Television Alliance
    The Independent Film & Television Alliance is the trade association that represents companies that finance, produce and license independent film and television programming worldwide. The association is headquartered in Los Angeles but has a worldwide membership and scope of services and advocacy....

  • Motion Picture Association of America
    Motion Picture Association of America
    The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...

    , MPAA
  • National Music Publishers' Association
  • Recording Industry Association of America
    Recording Industry Association of America
    The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

    , RIAA
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