Between 2011 and 2014, the federal government lost at least R $ 10 billion in taxes not collected because it allowed smuggled products into Brazil.
This is the point of an unprecedented study by Idesf (Institute of Economic and Social Development of Borders), released on Wednesday (16) in Brasilia.
Source: Folha de São Paulo Online (16/09)
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Brasilia, 17/9/15 - The National Council to Combat Piracy and Crimes Against Intellectual Property (CNCP) has opened registration for the 5th edition of the National Prize to Combat Piracy. Those interested in participating can register until November 11, 2015.
The objective of the event is to recognize public and private entities that stood out in the effective fight against piracy and the illegal market, which can compete with their projects in the educational / preventive, economic or repressive axes.
Actions carried out in any community in Brazil, whose focus has been on tackling piracy and other crimes against intellectual property, between October 2014 and September 2015 can be registered. click here.
Categories - According to the resolution of the event, the Award will be divided into three axes: educational / preventive actions; economic and repressive. In the educational area, projects should be presented aimed at raising awareness among consumers and public bodies in relation to the harmful effects of piracy and the importance of acquiring original products.
In the economic area, initiatives that aim to strengthen the business environment and legal security in Brazil will be contemplated, including in the digital environment, with regard to intellectual property rights. The repressive axis, in turn, intends to put into practice projects that improve measures to repress infringements against intellectual property.
The participant can only register in one category. Each action taken must be analyzed in accordance with the following evaluation criteria: impact and benefit to society; impact and benefit to the economy; initiative innovation and creativity; planning and coordination; and, finally, potential for example and motivation. The criteria will be evaluated by scores from zero to five. For a stock of a particular category to be awarded it will need to obtain a minimum score of 2,5.
All registered actions that reach the minimum score of 2,5 will be divided into the North, Northeast, Midwest, South and Southeast regions, and the action with the highest score in each region will receive a regionally outstanding award.
About CNCP - The National Council for Combating Piracy is an advisory collegiate body, part of the basic structure of the Ministry of Justice, whose purpose is to develop guidelines for the formulation and proposition of a national plan to combat piracy, the tax evasion resulting from it and the crimes against intellectual property.
Justice ministry
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Source: Ministry of Justice website .
In order for the crime of copyright infringement to be configured, it is not necessary to conduct an investigation on all seized assets or to identify the holders of the violated rights. The understanding was signed by the Third Section of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in the judgment of two repetitive appeals, the subject of which was registered under number 926. The rapporteur was Minister Rogerio Schietti Cruz.
The section decided that “it is sufficient to prove the materiality of the crime provided for in article 184, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code, the expertise carried out by sampling on the external aspects of the material seized, it being unnecessary to identify the copyright holders violated or whoever represents them ”.
The thesis will guide the solution of identical processes, and the STJ will only be able to appeal when the second instance decision is contrary to the agreement reached.
Losses
Schietti highlighted figures from the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan) according to which piracy (called counterfeiting in Law 9.610 / 98) damages tax collection by R $ 40 billion and promotes the loss of two million formal jobs, more than 20 thousand of them in the film industry alone.
The appeals judged originated in Minas Gerais. In one case, 1.399 DVDs and 655 CDs were seized for sale. However, the expertise was done on just ten movie DVDs. The judge rejected the complaint because he understood that there was no just cause for the criminal action. The Public Ministry appealed, but the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG) denied the appeal.
In the other case, 685 CDs and 642 DVDs were seized. The defendant was sentenced to two years' imprisonment under an open regime, plus a fine. The defense appealed, and the TJMG acquitted the accused for "lack of valid material evidence".
Sampling
In judging the appeals by the STJ, the Third Section decided that sampling expertise is possible. Minister Schietti explained that for the characterization of the crime of copyright infringement, the seizure of a single object would suffice.
In addition, the minister pointed out that the STJ dispenses with excessive formalism in order to verify this type of crime, "so that the simple analysis of external aspects of the seized objects is sufficient to prove falsehood". According to him, it would be unreasonable to demand an analysis of the content of the seized media, since the forgery can be verified visually.
Public action
As for the unnecessary identification of copyright holders, the minister said that piracy goes beyond the individuality of these victims and should be treated as an offense to the entire community, “as it reduces the supply of formal jobs, causes harm to consumers and legitimate owners. and it strengthens the parallel power and the practice of criminal activities related to the sale, apparently harmless, of these goods ”.
Schietti also added that the criminal action in these cases is unconditional public, that is, the manifestation of the violated copyright holder is not required for the criminal proceedings to start.
In the two cases judged, the section recognized the materiality of the crimes - in REsp 1.485.832, determined that the first degree judge proceeds to judge the merits of the action; at theREsp 1.456.239, determined that the TJMG proceed with the judgment of the appeal.
Source: STJ - Superior Court of Justice.
On September 16, a press conference will be held by the Movement in Defense of the Brazilian Legal Market and the Institute for Economic and Social Development of Borders (Idesf), for the presentation of the study that highlights the positive impacts of Operation Agate for the collection the fight against crime, the stability of companies and the generation of jobs in the country.
Date: 16 September 2015
Opening hours: at 14 pm
Location: Brasil 21 Convention Center - Brasília.
The National Council to Combat Piracy and Crimes against Intellectual Property (CNCP) announces the winners of the 4th edition of the National Piracy Combat Award (PNCP) on September 11th. The award, which is supported and managed by the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), was developed with the objective of identifying projects by public and private entities that stood out in the fight against piracy and other crimes against intellectual property in 2014.
"We created the award in order to encourage awareness and apprehension actions capable of curbing piracy, which affects society, causing a reduction in tax collection, a drop in the number of formal jobs and an increase in border insecurity" , analyzes Heloisa Ribeiro, executive director of ETCO.
After the award, which will end with the destruction of pirated products in the public square, the opening of registrations for the 5th edition of the National Piracy Combat Prize will be announced.
Adherence to the Piracy Free City
The award ceremony will take place in Blumenau (SC), starting at 10:30 am. On the occasion there will also be the signing of the cooperation term for the Cidade Livre de Pirataria program. Blumenau will be the 14th city to join the program. “We have, in Santa Catarina, the first State Council to Combat Piracy that has coordinated public policies aimed at preventing and suppressing intellectual property violations. Blumenau will be the first city in Santa Catarina to sign this term and we want to expand the program to other municipalities ”, says the Secretary of State for Sustainable Economic Development (SDS), Carlos Chiodini.
Started in 2010 and already implemented in Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Osasco, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, São Paulo and Vitória, the Cidade Livre de Piracy Program aims to municipalize the fight against illegal trade in products, so that participating cities actively take on the fight against piracy, developing actions in conjunction with municipal, state and federal institutions, in addition to representatives of civil society.
Service
Delivery of the 4th National Piracy Combat Award
Order date: September 11 at 10h30
Location: Noble Hall of the Blumenau City Hall (Praça Victor Konder, 2 - Centro, Blumenau - SC, 89010-904
About ETCO
The Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition, ETCO, is a civil society organization of public interest (Oscip) founded in 2003 with the objective of identifying, discussing, proposing and supporting actions, practices and projects that result in concrete improvement of the business environment in the Brazil. To this end, it acts to influence decision-makers to adopt measures aimed at reducing tax evasion, illegal trade and informality, in addition to actions to simplify the tax system and combat corruption and other misconduct. The institute seeks to maintain a strong presence in Brazilian business and political circles, with the aim of creating mechanisms and tools that strengthen competitive ethics. There are three action strategies: to foster studies on the factors that encourage these deviations in conduct; propose and support initiatives, actions or changes in legal texts and administrative practices; and to develop and support actions to raise public awareness about the harmful social and economic effects and the dangers of these illegalities and social leniency with these deviations from ethical behavior.
The Mixed Parliamentary Front in Defense of Intellectual Property and Combating Piracy sent a letter to President Dilma Rousseff calling attention to the size of the problem, pointing out some of its causes, such as the lack of structure of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), and presenting a list of measures that the country must take to combat it.
The Parliamentary Front was installed in May in the National Congress with the support of the ETCO-Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition, the National Forum to Combat Piracy and twenty other entities. It has 206 deputies and 33 senators and is chaired by deputy Nelson Marchezan (PSDB-RS).
Know the main points of the letter:
What the Parliamentary Front asked the President
Reject legislative proposals that stimulate or have as a direct or indirect consequence the setback and deindustrialization of the Brazilian innovative and creative park.
Strengthen the INPI, ensuring the expansion and constant training of its staff.
Perfect the Innovation Law and eliminate obstacles that, through outdated tax regulations, restrict Brazilian access to the most relevant technologies and inhibit the competitiveness of national companies.
To secure that the proposed amendment to the Copyright Law validates the protection, development and strengthening of intellectual rights in the audiovisual, editorial, phonographic and cultural sectors.
Promote legislative updates that attract investments to Brazil and allow greater internationalization of Brazilian companies.
Reject legislative proposals that limit or expropriate the right to use trademarks.
Fight efficiently illegal practices related to the counterfeiting of rights, piracy and unfair competition and to strengthen control of our borders.
The city of Blumenau, in Santa Catarina, adhered to the Free City Piracy Project. With this, the municipality becomes the fourteenth to integrate the program of the National Council to Combat Piracy, an organ of the Ministry of Justice. The project is coordinated by ETCO-Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition and, in six years of history, has won the participation of 13 municipalities, including São Paulo, Porto Alegre and Brasília.
The project seeks to expand the involvement of cities in combating the sale and distribution of pirated products. The city halls, as is known, are responsible for the inspection and for the granting and revocation of licenses and business licenses. Unfortunately, however, some do not pay due attention to the problem of piracy. One of the main reasons is the lack of integration with the other levels of government for joint actions. This is the main focus of Cidade Livre da Pirataria.
When the project started in 2009, the priority was to sign agreements with the cities that would host the 2014 World Cup. “We achieved our goal. Only one of the headquarters was not part of the project ”, recalls Márcio Gonçalves, who coordinated the work between 2009 and 2014.
Union, states and municipalities
By signing the agreement, the city commits to coordinating anti-piracy measures with inspection and seizure of products, in addition to awareness campaigns. The work includes the Public Ministry, the police and the tax authorities.
Brazilian law provides that all entities of the federation - the Union, states and municipalities - act against the trade in illegal products. In addition to the responsibility of the city halls, the Federal Government must act through the Federal Police and the Federal Revenue Service, which have tools to face the smuggling and embezzlement of goods. The states are responsible for investigative and inspection actions, through the Military and Civil police. "The fight against piracy must be the result of a joint effort between all these actors", says Gonçalves.
The greatest example of success in this integration work proposed by Cidade Livre de Pirataria is the case of São Paulo. Between 2010 and 2012, the city coordinated a work to combat piracy that resulted in the prolonged closure of several popular shopping malls that served as real centers for selling and distributing pirated products. The result of this constant action can be felt even in other regions of the country. “Camelódromos in other cities stopped working, because pirated products were purchased in São Paulo, where commerce was facing greater barriers”, says Gonçalves.
To enhance this type of effort, the National Prize for Combating Piracy was also created, an initiative that aims to reward the best projects to combat illegal trade. The idea is to highlight public and private entities that have taken outstanding initiatives in tackling crimes against piracy and intellectual property. The winners of the fourth edition of the award will be announced at the same ceremony in which Blumenau will join the Cidade Livre de Piracy Project, on September 11th. In addition to the announcement of the winners, the event should also mark the launch of the next edition of the award.
With more than 4,5 million irregular connections in Brazil, piracy remains one of the biggest problems for the Pay TV industry. To try to expand the inspection of this type of crime, Fox International Channels took advantage of the 2015 edition of the Brazilian Pay TV Association (ABTA) Fair to launch its own initiative to combat piracy.
The channel programmer launched the website Piratariazero.com. Through it, people and also companies in the sector will be able to report, anonymously, irregular connections and unauthorized transmissions of the signal from the group's channels. Complaints will be assessed and, when necessary, authorities will be notified to continue the process.
In addition to encouraging complaints about piracy on pay TV, Fox also intends to take advantage of the portal to propose solutions to the problem. The channel operator is part of the Alliance Against Piracy in Latin America, an entity created with the participation of players from several countries in South America - a region that still suffers from the high incidence of clandestine connections.
Source: Meio e Mensagem website (05/08)
