Friday Open Thread > US Congressmen add Canada to list of pirate countries

The co-chairs of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus (IAPC) today released their "Priority Country List" today highlighting some of the most pressing problems confronting the American creative community in global commerce.

Joining China and Russia in "the ignominious three" is Canada which, notwithstanding numerous public announcements, has failed to join the rest of its partners in the developed world in modernizing its copyright laws to address the challenges -- and to seize the opportunities -- of the digital age.

"RIAA salutes the work of the IAPC, and in particular the IAPC co-chairs, Senators Biden and Smith, and Representatives Schiff and Goodlatte, for their efforts to shine a light on the practices of some of America's trading partners where they fail to meet international standards.

The IAPC also noted particular concerns in Mexico where piracy continues to dominate the landscape, and also and in Spain and Greece who have fallen behind European partners in the fight against piracy and where significant impediments to effective copyright protection persist -- both in the online and physical environment.