Brett McGuire

Brett McGuire: ‘Victimless Crime’ Colors IP Debate

The rapid rise of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is causing some businesses to rethink how they go about protecting their IP.

Last month, the popular blog Boing Boing posted an article about Ralph Lauren’s latest advertisement for skinny jeans. “Her head’s bigger than her pelvis,” commented Xeni Jarvis, a contributor to the Web site. The entry also included a reproduction of the ad.

The fashion house responded by trying to suppress the criticism. They accused Boing Boing of infringing their copyright by posting the ad, and threatened to sue unless Boing Boing took it down.

The technology blog’s lawyers responded by pointing out that their client was well within its rights to include the ad on its Web site. In the United States, an image can be reproduced for purposes of criticism, comment or news reporting under the nation’s fair use doctrine.

Boing Boing co-editor, Cory Doctorow, went a step further and published Ralph Lauren’s demand letter to readers. “Copyright law doesn’t give you the right to threaten your critics,” he posted.

The dispute quickly made its way from the relatively niche Boing Boing to the mainstream media, thanks to readers posting links to the article on Twitter and Facebook. To avoid any further damage to its reputation, Ralph Lauren quickly issued a public apology.

Strong-arm tactics like this have no place in today’s hyper-connected world. Even a legitimate attempt to protect your intellectual property can quickly become David versus Goliath. After all, copyright infringement is a victimless crime, isn’t it?

The portrayal of copyright infringers as the little guy is one of the reasons the Motion Picture Association of America all but abandoned its DVD piracy eradication program in Indonesia.

Despite the evidence showing how DVD piracy supports organized crime, human trafficking and terrorism, the MPAA found it all but impossible to persuade the police to take action against retailers. This inaction reinforced the perception of DVD piracy as a victimless crime. The industry has flourished and Indonesia now has one of the highest movie piracy rates in the world.

Learning from this experience, the pharmaceutical industry decided to carry out a public outreach campaign as the first step of its effort to tackle the problem of counterfeit medications. It is estimated that fakes account for 10 to 20 percent of drugs sold in Indonesia.

Despite the obvious risks associated with counterfeit medications, surveys show most people will happily choose a fake over a far more expensive genuine drug. Such knock-off meds can be easily found in Jakarta, particularly in the markets of Pramuka, Grogol and Rawa Bening.

To address this, the International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group launched STOP! (Avoid Fake Drugs), a nationwide program to generate public support for its plans to take action against makers of fake medications.

The National IP Team has taken a similar approach with software retailers. Last week, Ansori Sinungan, the association’s director of cooperation, visited shopping malls in Jakarta and Bandung to explain to retailers why software piracy was a problem, as the first step in the National Team’s plans to combat piracy.

Whether it’s addressing the general perception of IP infringement as a victimless crime, or anticipating how the public will react to any action you take to protect your IP, public relations is more important than ever.

Brett McGuire is a consultant for Rouse. His Web site is HAKItree.com/brettmcguire.

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