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Today, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its report highlighting markets around the world in which the theft of U.S. intellectual property is open and notorious. Included in its report were a number of online sites that have a uniquely prejudicial impact on the ability to develop viable legitimate online music marketplaces in some key territories, and whose practices are particularly intolerable. There are three in particular that jump off the page: Russia’s vKontakte, Ukraine’s ex.ua, and Vietnam’s Zing.

As Sochi Olympics Continue, Spotlight Shines Bright On Russia's Most Popular Social Network

Today our colleagues at the International Intellectual Property Association (IIPA) submitted, on behalf of us and other creative industry organizations, a report to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on recommended reforms “needed to address the theft of intellectual property and other barriers to overseas markets faced by U.S. industries that rely on copyright protection.” That submission was part of the USTR’s annual so-called “Special 301” process. You can read more details here.

Remarks come as RIAA hits 35 million takedown requests to Google for illegal content

The RIAA submitted our recommendations in connection with U.S. Trade Representative’s annual “notorious markets” cycle, an initiative designed to expose businesses who operate illegally, whether by profiting directly from the sale or other distribution of illegal materials or from facilitating such theft—in many cases through the sale of advertising space. The common thread shared by these notorious markets is that they unfairly deny creators the opportunity to generate revenue from the commercial use of their works.

Asks Congress to facilitate discussion on DMCA in testimony before House IP panel

Google recently posted a report that outlined its efforts to fight online piracy. Certainly, Google has amassed an impressive array of data in its report. And there’s a lot to applaud, and we are grateful for the steps they’ve taken. But ultimately, the appropriate benchmarks are metrics that demonstrate that piracy has been reduced.

It was announced today that Victoria Espinel, the inaugural White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), has stepped down.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s this week released a green paper on Copyright Policy, Creativity, and Innovation in the Digital Economy to “advance discussion on a set of policy issues critical to economic growth."

Good first step, says RIAA CEO Cary Sherman, but "real test will come as these practices are implemented, and whether they have a demonstrable impact"