Tag: Combating illegal trade

Legal School Project - Students learn the importance of respecting intellectual property

Offer a multimedia activity in which to express opinions about the damage caused by piracy. It was with this objective in mind that students, aged 10 to 12, from the public school system in São Paulo, participated in the Video Legal Competition, organized by Amcham and the United States Consulate.

Practical activity showed the importance of intellectual property to more than XNUMX young people. The closing ceremony of the contest was held at Amcham-Sao Paulo, on June 1, and was attended by students and teachers from participating schools.

“The project not only promotes respect for intellectual property, but helps participants to create their own works. Films and videos stimulate creation, a value that depends on intellectual property ”, emphasizes the United States acting general consul in São Paulo, William Popp.

The winners

Of the 35 videos selected in the first phase, which ended in April, 9 reached the final phase. Of these, 3 were considered the best:

1st - “Little Black Riding Hood”, From the Municipal School of Elementary Education (Emef) Padre Manoel de Paiva;

2st - “In Terras de Cego”, From the Presidente Tancredo Neves State School;

3st - “The Drug Mafia”, By Emef Armando de Arruda Pereira.

The Legal Video integrates the educational activities of the Legal School Project (PEL), coordinated by Amcham. The PEL was created in 2007 and works to raise the awareness of elementary school students about the damage brought about by piracy and has the sponsorship of ETCO.

The representative of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Brazil, Albert Keyack, highlighted the creativity of the works and encouraged students to follow the path of creation. "Innovation is very important for Brazil and will be more and more in the future."

Google will receive winning students in June

The first and second placed in the contest won, as a prize, a visit to the Google headquarters in São Paulo, which will be held this month. “As Video Legal has a lot to do with technology, we thought about taking students to learn about the operation of a company in the sector”, explains the Institutional Relations representative at Google, Helena Martins.

Eduardo Paranhos, advisor to the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO) said that the most important thing is not to win prizes, but to learn from the theme. “Creativity and education are the winners. Those who lose are piracy, backwardness and lack of education and development. ”

For more information about the Legal School project, visit www.projetoescolalegal.org.br

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The siege of illegal trade

The State of S. Paulo - Editorial - 16/08/2011

Finally, the encirclement of illegal trade is being closed, which for years has occupied many streets and squares in the city of São Paulo and has resisted several attempts by the government to curb its activities. The first decisive step towards this was the creation in late 2009 of the Delegated Operation, in which military police officers (PMs) participate in the fight against street vendors during free time, receiving an additional fee paid by the City. The second was the recent intensification of the Task Force's operations to combat pirated and smuggled products.

The Delegated Operation grew too much, extending to other sectors - such as the environment (combating invasions in areas of environmental protection) and health (acting as firefighters in the Mobile Emergency Service - Samu) - which requires participation of 4 thousand PMs. This “official bill”, which was only exceptionally acceptable, crossed the line and its incorporation into the salary of a large number of PMs creates a serious problem, because it tends to be seen as a way to compensate for their low salaries.

A problem that City Hall and the State Government have to resolve as soon as possible, bringing the Delegated Operation back to its original objectives and dimensions. Within these parameters, it produced excellent results and its action is fundamental for them to be preserved and expanded. Paulistanos can move freely again through streets, squares and viaducts in various regions of the city, long occupied by thousands of street vendors. The crime rates in these places - especially those related to robberies and thefts - fell sharply.

But it has always been very clear to all who have addressed this problem that a direct and continued attack on sources of supply for illegal trade is essential to prevent street vendors, driven from those places, to resume their activities in other regions sooner or later. . Without it, camelodromes just change places.

Hence the importance of that Task Force, created in 2002, in the Marta Suplicy government, with the participation of the Metropolitan Civil Guard, City Hall inspectors, Civil, Military and Federal Police, State Prosecutors and the Federal Revenue Service. His successors maintained and improved the Force, which today also counts on the participation of the Municipal Secretariats of the Subprefectures and of Health (through the Health Surveillance), the State Secretariat of Finance and the National Council for Combating Piracy of the Ministry of Justice.

Operations carried out by the Task Force have always produced good results. The weakness of this initiative was the sporadic nature of these actions, although it was known from the beginning that continuity was essential to prevent the stocks of illegal seized products from being replenished, and everything started again. Finally, this has been done since December last year, under the Cidade Livre da Pirataria program, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice. According to the Municipal Secretariat for Urban Security, 18 operations have already been carried out, which resulted in the seizure of 25 million illegal products - pirated, counterfeited or smuggled - and the identification of 93 foreigners linked to these activities and their notification by the Federal Police to leave the country. Parents.

The targets of the most recent operation, carried out at the end of July, were Shopping Mirage and Galeria 960, in the region of Rua 25 de Março, which, in addition to their normal movement of irregular products, absorbed a good part of those sold by street vendors. expelled from that area. Of the 160 stores surveyed, 114 sold illegal goods. 152 thousand pirated or smuggled products were seized, mainly watches, bags, clothes and sneakers.

The fact that so many products were seized, eight months after the intensification of operations, shows the strength of this type of illegal activity and makes clear, once again, the need for the Task Force to act permanently.

“Look at the rapa”: an alert for street vendors

By Nelson Vasconcelos, Diário de S. Paulo - 07/01/2005

For those who don't know, rapa is the City Hall car that drives inspectors and police through the streets 'to seize goods from unlicensed street vendors', as the Houaiss Electronic dictionary says. At least on the streets of Rio and São Paulo, it is not uncommon to hear the warning of street vendors threatened by the proximity of the Law, shouting loudly: "Look at the rapa!" – and whoever is sensible should run away, to avoid being detained for a few minutes and losing their products.

Read also Money that stopped being collected with piracy would give to build 200 schools

And this is still a holdover from the 'romantic times of camelting'. Today it's not that much anymore, mainly because the coexistence between the men of the Law and the street vendors is much more tolerant and comradely, so to speak.

Well… this brief digression comes about the farewell to this column, which over the past eight months has presented different aspects of the large piracy market in the country and in the world. Once the alert has been made about the problems that piracy brings to the economy of countries — especially those on the periphery, like us — it's time to move forward. It's time to shave off…

Before that, the column thanks the collaboration of several sources — each defending its side, of course — and the multiple criticisms it received during that time. If all of them were not answered, it was due to lack of time.

Of the hundreds of emails that made it to the column — including messages sent via the internet — most claimed that companies have their share of blame for piracy, basically for stimulating rampant consumption and for not offering affordable prices at all levels of the population. It is a very frequent criticism in relation to goods such as clothing, CDs and DVDs, for example. Anyone who doesn't have R$25 for an original CD pays ten reais for three pirates on the corner. As music is increasingly a perishable, short-lived product, the pirated CD lasts at least until the favorite artist goes out of style. And who doesn't have Nike hunts with Naike…

Companies from various sectors, in turn, claim high spending on research and product development, hence their prices. And they say that the issue of piracy would be more related to a certain 'lack of honesty' of the consumer in general.

Companies also complain about something important: high taxation by the Government, which directly influences the final price of products to the consumer. But the Government does not seem to realize that high taxation does not necessarily mean higher revenue. Experiences in São Paulo, reported here, have already shown that consumers are able to choose the legal product, if the price to be paid is consistent.

The companies also demand from the Government more vigorous actions by the inspection and repression agencies against contraband, tax evasion and theft of goods. There are those who argue to what extent this is legitimate, as it means government spending to protect purely private interests, with no public benefit. It is a discussion that goes far.

The column spoke to sectors of the Government that, for their part, recognize their limitations and plan to put in practice, in the coming months, actions that can reduce the problem of piracy in the country. It will not be an easy task, considering that there is a lack of investments in technology and personnel, in addition to greater exchange between public agencies and, one of the great knots in the country, a more agile Justice.

Brazil loses R $ 287,9 billion to the illegal market

Another issue involving the Government is its (in)ability to negotiate with friendly countries — mainly those of Mercosur — and articulate with them a joint and permanent action against piracy.

It should not be forgotten that the United States, sheriffs in world trade, is putting strong pressure on countries that give piracy a chance. This could mean billion-dollar losses for the country's economy.

The Brazilian Legislative has repeatedly shown itself concerned with the matter and has done its part — it is a more than commendable effort, rare in the case of the Legislative. The formation of an exclusive inter-ministerial committee to combat piracy is in itself a positive point. When you start working, it will certainly be better.

Anyway, the message is given: piracy is the economy of illusion. As I said here, when a consumer chooses to buy a counterfeit or smuggled product, it looks like he is getting a good product, it looks like he is creating jobs, it looks like he is contributing to the country's economy. But it is all illusion. In the long run, the result is negative for several sectors. Better not pay to see.

Nor can the column cite an interesting discovery: that of reader Edson Barreto, an observer of the day-to-day on the streets, who wrote dozens of good stories about street vendors and street commerce. It is piracy, I would say, collaborating positively for the revival of the boring carioca chronicle.

And the most important: that 2005 is a very, very good year for everyone.