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• In Piracy’s Grip: Armenia still doing poorly in intellectual property protection

Harout, you are right. They need to put some effort in reducing the corruption levels in Armenia. It's is almost impossible to achieve anything involving a government employee without paying some form of a bribe. But that's beyond the focus of this article. There was a blog some time ago dispensing tips for bribery in the country. It hasn't been updated for some time, though. I guess it was a f...

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Armenia is the world’s third least secure country in terms of copyrights protection, according to information released by an international organization Wednesday.

October 21 marked the international day against piracy of intellectual property.

Georgia and Bangladesh are shown as doing even worse than Armenia, while France is the most piracy-proof country, according to the review (www.bsa.org).

Corresponding agencies in Armenia ascribe the situation to the flawed legal system and absence of bodies that would enforce relevant laws.

The most demonstrative proof of this is the case at the beginning of this year involving Microsoft, the world’s computer software giant that annually spends up to $14 billion on the design of new products. (Unlicensed products of this company appeared on sale at shops in Yerevan).

“Naturally, we want to protect our rights, but while we have introduced 8,300 computers with our software at Armenian schools, we are not sure that licensed keys will not be used for another 50,000 computers,” says Microsoft Armenia office manager Grigor Barseghyan.

Ara Tadevosyan, an advisor to the director of the National Expertise Bureau of the National Academy of Science of Armenia, says that expert examinations in this sphere became active only during the past year, but the field of computer software is relatively new and the Microsoft concern is a precedent.

“As concerns copyright not being protected in Armenia by 92 percent, I can cite one simple example that will make it clear for you what damage it does. This year the ICU organization was ready to provide Armenia with a grant of $8 million to develop medicine in Armenia, but the organization changed its mind because of the above-mentioned showing,” said Tadevosyan.

Another vulnerable sphere is illegal reproduction and sale of video and audio products.

Popular singer and producer Nadezhda Sargsyan is perplexed at the state’s inability to control the sphere where she says it can get huge taxes.

“One song in Armenia can earn you up to $1.6 million, from which those who create this song get nothing and we, like beggars, go and knock at sponsors’ doors. Why?” says Sargsyan.

Artur Varderesyan, head of the Intellectual Property Division at the National Police’s Head Department on Organized Crime, says that the situation has improved compared to what it was still in 2005, as some five companies began to work legally and sign contracts with artists.

“But now, too, people take advantage of the flawed legal underpinnings and continue to produce ‘homemade’ copies of the same video and audio records,” says Varderesyan.

This sphere is regulated by Armenia’s criminal code and code on administrative violations. Justice Ministry representative Liana Ghaltakhchyan says that the new administrative code will completely regulate this sphere. However, she adds, the Ministry is ready to discuss new proposals and search for new solutions.

In the meantime, Armenian artists find alternative solutions. Narine Mkrtchyan, an Armenia-based expert with BSA, an international trade association advancing the rights of the software industry, says that composer Ara Gevorgyan, for instance, registered his products in the United States and his copyrights are also protected in that country.