Author: Agência Senado

Source: Federal Senate - COMMISSIONS - 27/05/2009

As explained by José Henrique Werner, representative of the Brazilian Association of Intellectual Property, the proposal has the power to inhibit piracy because it alters penal legislation to punish more rigorously those who do not respect the Copyright Law. For the specialist, impunity can be considered the biggest cause for the trade of pirated products in Brazil. The other reason, he said, is the value of these products, which cost about half the price of the originals and are widely accepted by consumers.

As he explained, the practice of piracy involves other crimes, such as drug and arms trafficking. He listed the ports of Rio Grande, Itajaí, Espírito Santo, Santos and Paranaguá as the main entry points for Chinese products. Social classes. The specialist also explained that not only imported pirated products circulate in the country, but there are also national factories, mainly for clothes.

José Henrique was the third specialist to speak on the subject at the Education, Culture and Sport Commission (CE), where a seminar on the subject is being held. The executive secretary of the National Council for Combating Piracy, of the Ministry of Justice, André Luiz Barcellos, also expressed his opinions. He explained that one of the main actions to combat piracy has been to reduce the tax burden on original products, but warned that this mechanism does not always have the effect of increasing consumption as expected.

Two other speakers were Dorian Mazurkevich, from the United States Official Patent and Trade Office, and professor of tax law at Mackenzie University of São Paulo Eduardo MF Jardim.