Combating Piracy

Book excerpt: In Combating Piracy: Intellectual Property Theft and Fraud,Jay S. Albanese and his contributors provide new analyses ofintellectual property theft and how perpetrators innovate and adapt toshifting opportunities. The cases described here illustrate thewide-ranging nature and the spectrum of persons involved in piracy ofstolen copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents, from thesoftware industry to pharmaceuticals. The global reach of theproblem requires international remedies that include changed attitudes,public education, increasing the likelihood of apprehension, andreducing available opportunities. The contributors show that piracy isa form of fraud, a form of organized crime, a white-collar crime, acriminal activity with causes we can isolate and prevent, and a globalproblem. This book examines each of these perspectives to determine howthey contribute to our understanding of the issues involved.