Source: The State of Maranhão - 10/12/2010

Members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, military police, municipal guards, employees of the Secretariat of Finance and the Institute of Criminalistics and other public agents working in the fight against piracy in São Luís participated yesterday in the first Training Seminar Against Piracy, held in the capital. Given the economic impacts of this type of crime, combating piracy has been a priority focus for local authorities and entities. Regularly, operations are carried out in the city to reduce the sale of irregular products.

According to José Osmar Alves, holder of the 9th Prosecutor's Office of the Tax and Economic Order, only this year R $ 500 million in tax evasion was accounted for in the capital because of the sale of pirated products. "From September to December of this year alone, 12 operations were carried out by the Public Ministry and partner institutions in São Luís, resulting in the seizure of more than R $ 15 million in pirated products," he said.

Also according to him, approximately one thousand slot machines were also seized in these operations, in addition to the arrest of seven Chinese who traded pirated products in the capital, who were referred to the Federal Police. José Osmar Alves said that added the years 2008 and 2009, the damage to municipal public coffers would reach R $ 1 billion.

Seminar - About 100 public agents learned more about software piracy, audiovisual works, cigarettes, counterfeiting of medicines and the contracting of brands, which is the misuse of recognized brands in pirated products. “Training is one of the actions to combat piracy already foreseen in the Cidade Livre de Pirataria project, which is part of the National Plan to Combat Piracy,” explained Ana Lúcia Gomes, executive secretary of the National Council to Combat Piracy (CNCP).

The consultant for the Brand Protection Group (BPG), Luiz Claudio Garé, passed on to the participants a series of technical and legal information about this illegal practice and with the objective of helping them to carry out operations to apprehend counterfeit products on the city streets. . “The piracy industry is increasingly fast and specialized. Products that have not yet been launched on the Brazilian market or that are not sold here can be found freely on street vendor stalls and the physical differences are almost imperceptible, which is why the growth of this type of trade ”, he commented.

 

Source: The State of S. Paulo - 06/12/2010

By Carlos Alberto Sardenberg

Seventy million Brazilians bought some pirated product in the last year. Seventy million! This is equivalent to half the population over 16 years old. The vast majority, almost 80%, buy CDs and DVDs and made more than one acquisition in the period surveyed by the Federation of Commerce of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Fecomércio-Rio).

Let's say there are four purchases, on average, per person. We therefore have something like 280 million “small crimes” committed by, say, legal citizens.

The consumer, in theory, does not necessarily know that he is practicing piracy. He doesn't have to go to a dark alley, with a wad of notes in his pocket, to exchange for a DVD hidden in a paper bag. It makes the purchase in the open, in stores, kiosks in crowded galleries or even in camelódromos installed in entirely public places.

If you want invoice, not electronic, you will receive. It is true that sometimes the seller gives the flag and asks the customer: what value do you want on the bill? But as the consumer does everything in public, he can maintain as good the assumption that if the trade is there, in the eyes of everyone and even the authorities, it can only be legal. The counter salesman - not the business owner - can claim the same thing. It is there, working in plain sight, so ... It can even stick in the courts.

Now, let's speak frankly. Everyone knows you're a pirate. In fact, people look for that trade because they know it is cheaper there, much cheaper. Everyone also knows that there are two types of pirated products: one is entirely counterfeit, a copy generally of worse quality; another is the legitimate but smuggled product. This is a little more expensive, according to rules known in this medium.

Thus, we no longer have the presumption of innocence, but tacit consent to the commission of a crime. And here's the real problem: tolerance for “small crimes” is on people's minds, in the culture of society. Attention, it is not only in popular culture, because, through research by Fecomércio-Rio, even though most buyers are in the poorest classes, half of the people in classes A and B also acquire piracy.

Buying in the illegal trade appears as a behavior similar to a small tax evasion in the Income Tax, a consultation without a receipt, an employee hired without a formal contract and so on.

For some, it is pure cleverness - "I am not a fool to pay R $ 35 for a CD, if there is a corner for R $ 2". Others try to present the pirated purchase as an act of rebellion, a kind of protest against capitalism - "I am not going to give money to these companies and these guys". Still others present their attitude as a political act against the system - "Am I going to pay taxes for these politicians to steal?"

All three of these categories know they are cheating. They know perfectly well that they are committing a crime, but they consider it normal behavior in this society. Killing someone cannot. But “small” crimes, why not, if everyone does?

It is, therefore, a cultural and political problem. The person here reaches the elite of society - by money, by election or by appointment - and the first thing that occurs to him is that he no longer has to respect the law and the rules. Skip the line, buy a ticket without getting in line, park in a prohibited place, go through the red light (notice how official vehicles commit all these types of infractions), take out an identity card in the section chief's office, find the special treatment natural . Young people rising in life, but who have not yet arrived there, aspire to this treatment and, for a start, they are already, for example, parking in a vacancy for the elderly.

Now, in this climate, why not buy a pirate, even if the person has money to buy it legally? For these people, the problem is not money, but cleverness, trickery, taking advantage.

Which leads us to another side of this story, that of people who buy the pirated product because they have no way of acquiring the legal one. These are, say, the least guilty. They know they are not doing the right thing, but they cannot resist temptation. They buy the last pirated film because that is the only possibility. And they say they would buy it legally, if it was cheaper.

And here we fall in the Brazil cost. Legal production and trade pay high interest on capital, exaggerated taxes, spend resources on obtaining licenses, operating licenses, payment of various fees. It is expensive and complicated to do business honestly in Brazil.

This is the powerful cause of informality and piracy. There are small and even medium-sized enterprises that simply would not survive within the law. This presents them with a dilemma: in informality, they cannot grow beyond a certain, limited point; formalized, they risk dying prematurely. In any case, the damage is to the national economy.

There are therefore two problems. One cultural, the other economic. And the ugliest role is that of the rich and the elite.

 

Source: A Notícias - Joinville / SC - 03/12/2010

About 200 glasses and 15 CDs were destroyed this Friday morning in Blumenau, at Praça Victor Konder, in front of the city hall, as a way of making the population aware of the damage caused by piracy. The products were seized during actions by the Municipal Council for Combating Piracy (CMCP), from the Blumenau Economic Development Secretariat.

In addition to the destruction of goods, members of the Council will answer questions from the population about the practice of piracy, which is considered a crime by law. The mobilization will continue until 11:10 am and is part of the National Day to Combat Piracy.

To reach the young population, the CMCP works in conjunction with the Municipal Commission for Fiscal Education (CMEF) with the municipal schools. Lectures, presentations of pirated products and awareness are made. As one of the results of the partnership, EBM students Leoberto Leal present a theatrical play during the event.

What is piracy

It is all violation of the rights of creation. It is the crime that violates copyright, industrial property and, above all, intellectual property. It is an illegal and criminal activity that causes economic and social damage, related to organized crime, arms trafficking and even terrorism, increasing violence and criminality.

Some pirated products

Beverages
Toys
Food
Automotive parts
Sunglasses
CDs, DVDs and software
Sporting goods and clothing
Pharmaceutical products

Do your part

Do not purchase pirated products. Report illegal trade and copyright infringement to the Military Police (190) and the Civil Police (181).

 

Source: Portal R7 - - ECONOMY - 03/12/2010

The Brazilian government fails to collect around R $ 40 billion in taxes with the entry and sale of pirated goods in the national territory, according to projection by the president of IBL (Instituto Brasil Legal) and the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality, Édson Luiz Vismona.

On the National Day to Combat Piracy, remembered this Friday (3), the entity states that the loss may be much greater because the taxes are only part of the final price of the product. Calculating the size of the hole according to the economy segment, however, is almost impossible, according to Vismona.

- Our estimate roughly, because we do not have a very specific data, with data from the Ministry of Justice, the loss with tax evasion reaches R $ 40 billion per year. Now, it is difficult to estimate how much each sector loses with this unfair competition, which is well above this R $ 40 billion. To give you an idea, the tax is a percentage of the movement, which is much higher.

Piracy affects practically all productive sectors, according to Vismona. There are glasses, sneakers, electronics, medicines, perfumes, cosmetics, lamps, toys, cigarettes, cleaning products, pay TV, printing cartridges, watches, clothes, pens, fabrics.

- All sectors of the economy are affected by the scourge of piracy in our country.

This week, Fecomercio-RJ (Trade Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro) released a survey that points out that more than 70 million Brazilians consume pirated products. This audience represents almost half of the current Brazilian population.

For the president of Sindireceita (National Union of Internal Audit Careers of the Federal Revenue), Paulo Antenor de Oliveira, the more intense monitoring and inspection of Brazilian borders would reduce the impact of the entry of pirated products into the country, where weapons and drugs also enter .

- The main routes of entry [of pirated products in the country] are Paraná, in cities like Foz do Iguaçu and Guaíra, and part of Mato Grosso do Sul, in the locations of Bela Vista, Mundo Novo and Ponta Porã.

Oliveira says that Brazil has almost 17 km of borders and only 31 official border points - which would facilitate the verification of cargo entering the country. Customs, however, suffers from a lack of equipment to detect illegal goods.

- There are few points, [which are] poorly equipped and with little effective. You do not find scanners, which puts many difficulties in the work of repressing what enters the country. The scanner is responsible for the comb. Without you opening it, it already checks the load.

Today, there are only scanners at two border points, one in Uruguaiana and the other in Foz do Iguaçu.

The union president, who prepared a detailed study on Brazilian borders, also complains about the lack of employees from the IRS, which compromises the realization of magazines in the currencies.

- Today there are 596 employees working in the border areas, but about 1.100 would be needed.

 

Source: O Globo, 03/12/2010

SÃO PAULO - It is estimated that the market for pirated products - CDs, DVDs, electronics, toys and even medicines - generates R $ 120 billion a year in Brazil. The government alone fails to earn R $ 30 billion in taxes. The damage to companies producing official goods is incalculable. Almost half of Brazilians buy piracy, a sample that varies little according to social class or education level. The data is the eloquent result of a culture in which piracy is not a crime, nor does it harm companies and professionals.

- There is a romantic view that those who produce and sell piracy are unemployed poor people. It is an illusion. Whoever works with piracy is linked to organized crime - says the executive secretary of the Ministry of Justice and president of the National Council to Combat Piracy, Rafael Thomaz Favetti. - Often, operations to apprehend pirated products lead policemen to a mafia, which commits other crimes such as human trafficking and slave labor - adds Favetti, citing as an example a recent arrest in the Federal District that resulted in the arrest of 33 Chinese.

But changing behavior and mindset is not simple. Part of the effort begins on Friday with the broadcast in 600 cinemas of an awareness campaign created in partnership by the Ministry of Justice with the National Film Agency (Ancine). There are four 45-second films made by the DM9 agency, with the participation of singers Claudia Leitte and Rogério Flausino, lead singer of Jota Quest. In addition to theaters, DVDs will feature one of the campaign's films in their content. The initiative is important, but it must be the tip of an iceberg, whose foundation is formed by education and repressive measures. It is the evaluation of Luiz Fernando Garcia, director of the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (ESPM).

- An advertising campaign alone does not change behavior. It has to be part of a complete package that includes education, whose effects appear in the medium and long term, and repression - explains Garcia, comparing the campaign to combat piracy with AIDS prevention and traffic safety campaigns (“If you drink, don't drive ”).

Garcia praises the more positive tone of the new campaign. In previous years, the government preferred to associate piracy with organized crime in advertising, which did not work well, according to the expert.

- I prefer the current campaign than the previous ones. The association with organized crime was not convincing. The public found the bond forced - Garcia says. - Reinforcing the positive side usually works best. But part of the speech is fragile. Famous artists can be a force to value the work of creation. The other side of this coin is the risk of some thinking: “oh, they already made too much money” - predicts the academic.

For the Minister of Justice, Luiz Paulo Barreto, another front in the fight against piracy is universal access to goods. Barreto recalled the low number of movie theaters in Brazil and their concentration in large cities.

- Piracy even has exclusive markets in Brazil. It is necessary to attack the supply of pirated products by fighting demand, just as with drugs. And to reduce demand, it is necessary to offer access to the good in some way, whether in cinema, video store, open or closed TV - believes Luiz Paulo Barreto.

The president of the National Cinema Agency (Ancine), Manoel da Costa Rangel, says that with income and access, Brazilians prefer to consume the original product, even to feel included. Rangel believes that in addition to the campaign and repression, the audiovisual sector is struggling to rearrange itself, offering more competitive prices and protecting itself from internal content leaks.

- The problem of access to the product is important, but I see solidarity efforts in the economic chain. DVDs and CDs are, without a doubt, the most pirated products in Brazil - concludes Rangel, optimistic when observing the box office record of national films in 2010.

 

Source: InfoMoney; Yahoo Finance - 03/12/2010

SÃO PAULO - This year, the IRS has already seized about R $ 1,1 billion in pirated products. Only this week, the institution carried out an operation that destroyed more than 2,7 tons of irregular goods.

This Friday (3), the agency will hold another National Merchandise Destruction Task Force, which should destroy CDs, DVDs, cigarettes, used tires, beverages, cosmetics, condoms, medicines and foods unfit for consumption, in addition to counterfeit products. The volume is valued at more than R $ 156 million.

The action is one more carried out across the country aimed at combating piracy, whose day is celebrated this Friday (3). And although measures like these are increasingly common in the country, the consumption of pirated products grows.

According to a survey conducted by Fecomércio-RJ (Federation of Commerce of the State of Rio de Janeiro), in partnership with Ipsos, about 70,2 million Brazilians buy counterfeit goods. The research shows that what motivates the purchase of this type of product is the low value - a factor that decides the purchase of 94% of consumers.

Real impacts

The figures also show that consumer awareness of the negative impacts of piracy on different segments of the economy has been falling. Many question whether, in fact, the sale of counterfeit products has great relevance to their lives and causes real damage.

The President of the National Council to Combat Piracy and Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Rafael Favetti, has no doubts. “The distribution of pirated products involves an immediate negative impact not only on trade, industry, the government's fiscal health, but mainly on people's dignity”, he says.

Favetti points out that it is important for the consumer to realize that a pirated product has no guarantee of safety and can still compromise the consumer's health. “This product is a lie”, he reinforces.

For the president of ICDE (Institute to Combat Fraud and Defense of Competition), Rodrigo Lagreca, the impacts of this parallel trade are real. “Piracy imposes unfair competition between companies and damages mainly small and medium-sized companies, which employ almost 70% of the population”, he says.

And the movement in this market is significant. The latest data on the underground economy, measured by FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), show that the informal economy moved R $ 650 billion in 2010 and grew at the same speed as GDP (Gross Domestic Product). The data refer to the informal economy that includes tax evasion, social security contributions and compliance with labor laws and regulations, in addition to the production of goods and services that are not reported to the government deliberately.

The expressive numbers show the harmful potential of pirated products, according to Lagreca. He explains that piracy spins a non-virtuous circle that begins and ends with consumers at the same time. Low prices attract them, causing sales of companies that were concerned with purchasing certified and authorized products to decrease, as well as their production. These declines generate a decrease in the revenues of these companies, which end up having to reduce the number of employees - consumers.

Awareness

And at what point can that circle be broken? “The key point is to change people's behavior in the face of this illegal act”, says Lagreca, from ICDE. "It is important for the consumer to understand that his particular action in this sense causes damage", reinforces Favetti, from the Ministry of Justice.

Although the figures show that consumer awareness of the negative impacts of the sale of pirated products is falling, the president of the National Council to Combat Piracy believes that this perception is increasing. "Brazil has advanced in the fight against piracy and more and more consumers are aware of this act", says Favetti.

For Lagreca, the issue of the lowest price is not the only factor. "People buy pirated products not because they cannot afford to pay for the originals, but because they want to obtain the individual advantage in the short term, without the concern that this may have consequences for the collective, including for themselves," he says.

In this regard, Favetti says that there are solutions, but that they are not only based on government measures, such as fiscal and tax exemptions. “The market itself has mechanisms for this. There are good practices for reducing prices ”. One of them, he mentions, is the sale of licensed products - which are not original, but which are not part of the pirate market.

“Everyone must work together. It is not just the government's job to do this, ”says Lagreca. "We need to reinforce awareness campaigns, because piracy is added to the practice of consumer rights and duties", he adds.

 

Source: Mais Comunidade - Brasília / DF - 02/12/2010

The Secretariat of Public and Social Order (Seops) started the first phase of the full legalization plan for the Brasília Import Fair. The Order Shock operation carried out by the Secretariat on Thursday (2) combated illegal trade promoted by street vendors and piracy. The action started at 6 am in order to avoid the installation of the fair's external public area.

The performance team removed 10 canvas and wood shacks used by street vendors in front of the fair. Inside the tents, freezers with alcoholic drinks, juices and soft drinks were found. No merchandise was seized. The agents talked to the sellers, asking for the products to be removed from the place. Only in cases where street vendors are unable to collect items, such as freezers, chairs and tables, will Seops make the transfer to the owners' addresses, using trucks provided by the Brasília Administration.

In addition to the shacks being in a public area, they did not have minimum hygiene conditions. During removal, rats and cockroaches were found in the irregular trade.

During the operation, there was little resistance from some salespeople, who set tires and garbage on fire, hindering vehicle traffic on the roads near the fair. The Military Police, however, intervened, preventing the demonstration. A man who caused confusion at the scene was taken to the 8th Police Station for the Industry and Supply Sector (SIA).

About a thousand pirated CDs and DVDs were also seized in the action in illegal tents. All the material was taken to the warehouse of the Inspection Agency (Agefis). Altogether, 100 agents from Seops, Agefis, the Traffic Department (Detran), the Brasília Administration, the Civil Police and the Military Police participated in the operation.

 

Source: Ministry of Justice - Brasília / DF - 02/12/2010

Brasília, 02/12/2010 (MJ) - As of this Friday (3), more than 600 movie theaters from all over the country are going to show before the start of the sessions the four educational films released this Thursday (2) at the Cinemateca, in São Paulo. The initiative of the Ministry of Justice and the National Cinema Agency (Ancine) is part of the national campaign to combat audiovisual piracy. The National Day to Combat Piracy is celebrated on December 3rd.

Present at the launch of the campaign, the Minister of Justice, Luiz Paulo Barreto, said that piracy helps to finance organized crime repudiated by the citizen. Barreto also declared that “nothing better than audiovisual to awaken the sensitivity of the Brazilian people”. The Minister of Justice pointed out that combating piracy is an exercise in citizenship. “Therefore, the use of this means of communication is important to convey to the consumer how important it is to be original. And originality is a characteristic of the Brazilian people ”, he defended.

The campaign aims to promote actions and activities aimed at combating piracy and crimes against intellectual property. In films, national artists speak to the public about the importance of society's participation in this fight. The protagonists of the campaign's films reaffirm the respect for the originality of the Brazilian people as an argument in defense of copyright.

Ancine's president, Manoel Rangel Neto, emphasized that the campaign works with the original concept, works to show what is cool. "These films are part of a commitment and articulation of Brazilian institutions to preserve legalized activity to the detriment of piracy," he declared.

The president of the National Council to Combat Piracy (CNCP) and executive secretary of the MJ, Rafael Favetti, drew attention to the association of piracy with crime. "According to all the data we have on seizures, whoever makes and distributes these products is linked to organized crime."

A technical cooperation agreement that gives continuity to educational, economic and repressive actions in the audiovisual area was signed by Minister Luiz Paulo Barreto, Executive Secretary Rafael Thomaz Favetti and by the president of Ancine, Manoel Rangel Neto. All CNCP members were present at the launch of the campaign.

Piracy

Research by Fecomércio / RJ on piracy, released on Tuesday (30), reveals that currently, 70,2 million people consume pirated products in Brazil. The study shows that there was an increase of 13,8 million more of the total consumers of these products in relation to 2006.

Among the pirated products consumed are CD to cigarettes. The percentage of respondents in the survey of the institution that buys pirated CDs reached 79%, followed by DVDs (77%); glasses (7%); footwear, bags or sneakers (7%); watches (5%); clothes (6%); toys (3%) and cigarettes (4%). The survey was conducted in 70 households in XNUMX cities, nine of which were metropolitan regions.