Mexican IP Official: Infringement Is A More Serious Problem Than Drug Trafficking

from the say-what-now? dept

It's no secret that Mexico has a huge drug trafficking problem. However, according to Jose Rodrigo Roque Diaz -- the director of the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property, that's nothing compared to the real problem of intellectual property infringement (Google translation of the original Spanish, found via Copycense):
According to the director of the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property (IMPI), Jose Rodrigo Roque Diaz, piracy is not given due attention, which is equivalent to theft of a house or a vehicle.
So, already, you know you're off to a bad start when someone can't comprehend the difference between infringement and theft. But, seriously, I don't think anyone can legitimately suggest that infringement in Mexico is a bigger issue than the illegal drug trade. I recognize that intellectual property maximalists have a long history of massively exaggerating nearly everything... but, it should at least pass the laugh test, shouldn't it?
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Filed Under: drug trafficking, infringement, intellectual property, mexico


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  1. icon
    The eejit (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 8:52am

    So someone copying a DVD is worse than destroying lives? Nice false equality you have there - that a DVD is worth more than a life.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:28am

    Today in the news from Mexico ...

    Today in mexico for the first time the deaths from copyright infringement have exceeded the deaths from the war on drugs.

    Also in the news Abbott labs mexico division posted record earnings this week ...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    chuck, 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:36am

    Oh Noes! Piracy! send in the drones.

    in a recent article...
    The U.S. government has begun deploying drones into Mexico after Mexican officials requested U.S. aircraft to help them fight movie and music-trafficking organizations.

    Although U.S. agencies remained tight-lipped recently on flying drones over Mexico, the chief of the Mexican National Security Council, Alejandro Poiré, admitted that his government asked for this type of support to gather intelligence.

    sounds awkwardly familiar doesn't it?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Designerfx (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:39am

    Re: Today in the news from Mexico ...

    RECORD earnings? You shill you!

    I believe they posted infringement earnings, as those are clearly more important than their pharmaceutical business.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:44am

    I would much rather read his actual comments in Spanish than a translation replete with errors.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:45am

    I dont agree but if it takes resources or focus away from the "war on drugs" then that's fine by me.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:48am

    Re:

    I would much rather read his actual comments in Spanish than a translation replete with errors

    Which is why I provided a link to the Spanish. However, I checked with a Spanish speaker, and they said the English translation is accurate.

    Perhaps, in your rapid desire to criticize everything I post and support stronger copyright laws everywhere, you could give me the benefit of the doubt, just once.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    Prashanth (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:49am

    Re:

    Are you a shill, sarcastic, or ignorant? The drug wars in Mexico are real, brutal, and absolutely nothing like the "war on drugs" in the US.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    Joe Publius (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:51am

    Considering that Mexico seems to be a very loose confederation of Drug Cartels, I can see why protfitable drug exports to the US aren't seen as a problem.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    bshock, 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:57am

    mexico is the future

    About 25 years ago I lived in Mexico for a while. At the time, I was amazed and disoriented by its value system, where the non-wealthy were considered little more than cattle. Mexico had a relatively tiny, wealthy ruling class, a massive amount of poor people, and practically nothing a U.S. citizen would call a "middle class." As far as I could tell, the role of the government and the police was to protect the wealthy from the poor.

    Apparently that hasn't changed. While drug trafficking may kill thousands of poor people in Mexico, these are exactly the people who don't count. However, copyright infringement threatens the money of the wealthy, and that's a big deal.

    And isn't that the direction the U.S. has been going for the last 25 years? The rich get richer, the poor multiply, and the middle class dwindles. Government is purchased by the wealthy to protect wealth. The authorities (police, FBI, TSA, etc.) become fat and arrogant and fearful in their harassment of non-wealthy citizens. The War on Drugs becomes nothing more than an excuse to arrest or kill the poor who don't fall into line like good little cattle, waiting to be herded, milked, or slaughtered.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Michael, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:03am

    Re:

    No, someone copying DVD's IS destroying lives. Remember the corn farmers?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. icon
    Ron Rezendes (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:05am

    Re:

    Feel free to provide any corrections you might feel are important. Please understand you won't be paid for your contribution. I understand this may cause you distress but honestly you won't find much sympathy around here.

    Just once I'd like to see you bring even a proposed solution with your complaining. My guess is that you don't actually read or speak Spanish, and if you did but decided not to provide the corrections, you're just a lazy whining pathetic troll who likes to read his own complaints.

    Please crawl back under your bridge or post something worth reading.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    bob, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:05am

    These drugs are largely open source

    I'm not sure why you want to make the drug trade seem worse than movie and music piracy. The drugs are all generics made outside of patents. There's no IP and no evil pharmaceutical reps. The drugs grow like weeds. The only artificial scarcity, one of your favorite bug-a-boos, is caused by government regulation not the drug community. So the drug trade seems pretty ideal if I judge by the comments around this place.

    Given that you routinely offer some kind of vague opposition to piracy even while apologizing and defending anyone who partakes in it, I'm guessing that even this abstract notion of piracy is still worse than the open source world of illegal drugs.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. icon
    cc (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:08am

    Re: Re:

    Surely you must have meant "rabid"? Or perhaps "vapid"?

    Hell, all three apply, so you can mix and match.

    It's a rapid vapid rabid desire to criticize.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:12am

    What a monster. Sorry Juarez, we just feel that millionaire rights holders are more important than a lot of dead poor people.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. icon
    Jay (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:16am

    Re: Re:

    Not to say he's being a shill but he might be bringing up a fair point.

    The condition that the US drug policy on drugs has failed.

    Yes, they're real, brutal, and there are even odes to drug cartels.

    We do need to look more into how to combat Prohibition but perhaps we can find a good way to finally stop the Mexican side of this drug war by legalizing and regulating in the US.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:17am

    "Mexican IP Official: Infringement Is A More Serious Problem Than Drug Trafficking, because the nice American said so."

    FTFY

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:22am

    Re: These drugs are largely open source

    yes but the scarcity "caused by government regulation not the drug community" leads to slavery and death and all kinds of horrible things

    http://projects.latimes.com/mexico-drug-war/#/its-a-war

    to say that ip infringement is an equal or greater problem is disgusting

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. icon
    Gwiz (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:25am

    Re: These drugs are largely open source

    I'm not sure why you want to make the drug trade seem worse than movie and music piracy.

    I dunno what you read - but, I don't believe I have ever heard a story of innocent bystanders getting killed because their neighbors were downloading illegal content.

    So yes, in my mind, the Mexican illegal drug trade is much, much worse than movie and music piracy.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    herbert, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:27am

    Mexican IP Official: Infringement Is A More Serious Problem Than Drug Trafficking
    more like "because the copyright industries payed me more to say that than the drug lords did".
    sounds to me like you'd get more sense out of a complete idiot than from this guy!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:29am

    Re: These drugs are largely open source

    Boys, let's not feed this one. He's getting too obvious.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:31am

    Re: Re: Re:

    "perhaps we can find a good way to finally stop the Mexican side of this drug war by legalizing and regulating in the US."

    but ... but ... the bureaucracy!!!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:38am

    Re:

    "you'd get more sense out of a complete idiot than from this guy!"

    seems like a paradox

    i mean he is a complete idiot isnt he?

    "because the copyright industries payed me more to say that than the drug lords did."

    could also be "downloaders dont try to murder my family when i try to arrest them so maybe we should focus on that for awhile."

    p.s. punctuation goes inside of quotes

    link to this | view in thread ]

  24. identicon
    HM, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:45am

    Re: Re:

    yes, grammar tips from the guy who doesn't capitalize or use punctuation

    link to this | view in thread ]

  25. icon
    Gwiz (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:46am

    Re: Re: These drugs are largely open source

    Boys, let's not feed this one. He's getting too obvious.

    I really do know better.

    But sometimes, like with good ole bob there (but...but...what about bob?), I just can't seem to resist.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  26. icon
    Overcast (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:50am

    And no - they don't always go within the quotes, lol.

    http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp

    link to this | view in thread ]

  27. identicon
    Dirty Sanchez, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:51am

    Seriously?

    Is this moron serious? What kool-aid drinking fantasy world does he live in?

    Last I checked, roving gangs of IP infringers weren't terrorizing the countryside and killing law enforcement officers... that was drug lord.

    Of course, considering this complete idiot is probably on the bank roll of some drug cartel, I suspect we can afford him the same consideration we'd afford a babbling madman.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  28. identicon
    MrWilson, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:52am

    Re: Re:

    You mean the corn farmers who are shot by the DVD-runners?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  29. identicon
    Huph, 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:57am

    Re: Re: Re:

    ^^^ Beat me to it.

    Also, he's incorrect. Only in the US do we absolutely force punctuation inside the quotes at all times. In "logical" or "British" grammar, the punctuation goes inside/outside based on the context.

    US-style punctuation was a work-around foisted on us by none other than those monopolistic printing companies which were too lazy to reset the type after every printing.

    "...because the copyright industries payed me more to say that than the drug lords did".

    However, since the "quoted" text wasn't really a quote, I don't know where this particular period should go. I'm not sure on the punctuation rules of FTFY-style quoting. I'd be interested to see if the issue has ever been taken up.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  30. icon
    ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:59am

    Re: Re:

    Did that translator secure the derivative rights?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  31. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 11:16am

    Re:

    well i dont really like this page since rule 1 and rule 2 are in opposition to each other.

    Rule 1. Periods and commas ALWAYS go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes.

    Rule 2. The placement of question marks with quotes FOLLOWS LOGIC. If a question is in quotation marks, the question mark should be placed inside the quotation marks.

    emphasis mine, but Huph's post explains this away. I went to a high school where my english teacher literally wrote the textbook, for our and some surrounding schools. He was always very adamant about this rule. He also hated the British so that might have something to do with it. I used to have a problem with it when I was quoting something that isn't a question but the full sentence is, like:
    "Did he really say, "my balls are like beach balls?"
    I always wanted to put the ? outside but they eventually broke me.

    I was unaware that the Brits have a different rule regarding this than us.

    "In "logical" or "British" grammar"
    never thought logical and British could be interchanged
    ZING!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  32. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 11:21am

    Don't you know? It's like all those reports have been saying. All those murders and beheadings in Mexico have nothing to do with drugs. It's all who gets the first screener out!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  33. icon
    Kevin (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 11:29am

    Dude, my dealer just called and told me he had some new Lady GaGa master tracks. BMG execs would kill for this stuff. Gets you like all crazy and shit.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  34. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 11:39am

    He has a budget to protect (his own.) Of course he's going to sensationalize.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  35. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2011 @ 12:11pm

    Re: Re:

    whoops, after lunch groggies. I just reread the rules and see how they are not in opposition to each other at all.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  36. icon
    Sean T Henry (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 12:30pm

    Re:

    That is the point I was going to make they do not bring in money with infringement but drugs do sent money to Mexico.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  37. icon
    Joe Publius (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 12:40pm

    Re:

    My humours do become unbalanced whenever I hear her music. Perhaps a pipe of refreshing crack is in order?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  38. icon
    The eejit (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 1:13pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Not the Bureaucracy, but Big Pharma loses its supply of illegal drug to feed its higher-ups.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  39. icon
    The eejit (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 1:16pm

    Re:

    IS that the one with actual LSD on the cover? OR is it the LE version with pure liquid crack?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  40. identicon
    bob, 29 Apr 2011 @ 2:16pm

    Re: Re: These drugs are largely open source

    Ah, but just a few months ago the "czar of piracy" died from 16 stab wounds.

    http://www.mexico.vg/mexicos-drug-cartels/don-gaby-crime-boss-who-ran-piracy-business-killed-in- mexican-prison/1844

    Or here's another headline: "Video piracy takes bloody twist, youth pays with life "

    http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_video-piracy-takes-bloody-twist-youth-pays-with-life-i n-bangalore_1458419

    As it becomes a bigger and bigger business, you can bet that the disputes will get worse. The new sites that charge for downloads are a far cry from Napster. It's all about the monthly fees now.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  41. icon
    ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 2:26pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    US-style punctuation was a work-around foisted on us by none other than those monopolistic printing companies which were too lazy to reset the type after every printing.

    Not quite. It was because it looks better. You know what the largest group in America that doesn't follow that model?

    That's right.

    Lawyers.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  42. icon
    Gwiz (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 6:13pm

    Re: Re: Re: These drugs are largely open source

    Perhaps it was a mistake to use your words, "movie and music piracy" when I was referring to file sharing or copyright infringement, not counterfeiting.

    Both of your links are about the illegal production of physical CD's and DVD's, or counterfeiting. I agree that counterfeiting of physical goods is a serious problem.

    I also feel that conflating the counterfeiting of physical goods with copyright infringement is deceitful.

    As it becomes a bigger and bigger business, you can bet that the disputes will get worse. The new sites that charge for downloads are a far cry from Napster. It's all about the monthly fees now.

    As for this part, I think you are jumping at shadows a bit here by comparing new business models in perhaps uncharted legal territory to organized crime.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  43. icon
    slander (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 8:22pm

    Guns don't kill people...

    ... DVD rips kill people.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  44. identicon
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 29 Apr 2011 @ 9:18pm

    Mexican Drug Wars

    There are two things fuelling the drug wars in Mexico: 1) the US, and 2) the US.

    It is US customers with lots of money to buy the drugs. And it is US guns, freely available on that side of the border, which are being smuggled across to commit the carnage with.

    Does the US have the will to do anything about either of these factors? No.

    So, can Mexico stop the drug wars? No.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  45. icon
    slander (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 10:44pm

    Re: Mexican Drug Wars

    Er, you do realize that that whole "guns smuggled across from the US" types of statements spewed out by the Obama administration was exposed as nothing but pure horse-shit, right?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  46. icon
    The eejit (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 11:28pm

    Re: Seriously?

    Two words: Hell's Grannies. [/Python]

    link to this | view in thread ]

  47. icon
    The eejit (profile), 29 Apr 2011 @ 11:29pm

    Re: Re: Mexican Drug Wars

    Who needs to smuggle when you can take them across and sell them as a member of the Military?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  48. identicon
    Difster, 30 Apr 2011 @ 12:04pm

    Drugs vs. Copied DVD's

    You guys are all missing the point. I seriously doubt this guy believes what he's saying. The LIKELY scenario is that he's trying to curry favor with the cartels for some reason.

    This guys knows what every other Mexican knows. The cartels are killing hundreds of people a month and piracy killed no one.

    Also (and I know this because I live in Mexico right now) people openly sell copied DVD's & CD's on the street. I've even seen cops buy from these guys. No one cares. They don't see a problem with it (nor do I). The video rental stores still do good business, Walmart still sells the real things, etc. No one is injured by this.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  49. icon
    Billy Wenge-Murphy (profile), 1 May 2011 @ 10:59pm

    I promise never to pirate - or even watch - your telenovelas. There, problem solved. Now, about those beheadings....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  50. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 May 2011 @ 11:31pm

    Re: Re: Re: These drugs are largely open source

    All the more reason to abolish IP.

    If you don't want infringement implemented with violence then make copying legal. If anything, it's the copying prohibition that creates organized crime and violence, not the copying itself. Abolish the prohibition and the violence goes away.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  51. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 May 2011 @ 12:02am

    Re: mexico is the future

    I completely agree with you. The U.S. is turning much into Russia, a nation that protects the wealthy at the expense of everything else.

    Government imposed monopolies are what allow the wealthy to make most of their money and have the poor do most of the work. The media never criticizes our absurd IP laws, or any of the other many govt imposed monopolies, because the criticisms hit a nerve. They know that government imposed monopolies are what allows those without merit (those who do little work) to make make money off of others who do have merit. Govt imposed monopolies are the cause of the income inequality that unfairly favors the rich. They can't bear the thought of relinquishing their main source of unearned income at the substantial expense of everyone else. Mentioning that these monopolistic laws are the main cause of our income inequality would be unacceptable, it could create public resistance that would curtail their unearned income. and so the monopolized media keeps this information out. They never even mention that they themselves benefit from govt imposed monopolies on cableco infrastructure and broadcasting spectra. Govt imposed monopolies that wrongfully prevent these sorts of criticisms from being distributed over these information channels.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  52. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 2 May 2011 @ 12:05am

    Re: Re: mexico is the future

    They can't bear the thought of relinquishing their main source of unearned income that comes at the substantial expense of everyone else. *

    and as this post makes clear, IP isn't about the public, it's about the privilege holders. Lets abolish IP.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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