The Entertainment Software Association

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International IP Issues

• The ESA Priority Country Program
• The ESA,  the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), and the "Special 301" process
• The ESA and International Organizations
• The ESA and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
• The ESA and International Dialogue

The ESA Priority Country Program

ESA Intellectual Property Policy staff work continuously with member companies to identify countries of greatest interest to the industry from a trade policy and anti-piracy perspective.  Countries are identified as top priorities for these industry efforts in two ways: by being promising markets with extremely high domestic piracy rates or by being responsible for high-volume production of pirated entertainment software product, often for export.  Currently ESA's priority target countries are: Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United States and Vietnam.

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The ESA,  the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), and the "Special 301" process

One way the ESA serves the international intellectual property policy needs of the video and computer game industry is through its participation as one of the six members of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA).  Formed in 1984, the IIPA represents copyright-based industries, including those for software, books, films, and music, to improve international protection for copyrighted works.  The ESA and its IIPA partners work to combat organized criminal involvement in intellectual property piracy and to encourage international cooperation on intellectual property issues in addition to participating in the "Special 301" process in the United States.  Under U.S. law, section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 provides for the "Special 301" process under which the United States Trade Representative (USTR) identifies nations denying adequate protection for intellectual property rights or who deny market access to those relying on intellectual property rights.  The ESA and its member companies provide information on video and computer game piracy for inclusion in IIPA's annual Special 301 Report on Global Copyright Protection and Enforcement, and the ESA takes an active role in the preparation of the annual report - IIPA's Special 301 Report on Global Copyright Protection and Enforcement.

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The ESA and International Organizations

The ESA actively supports the work of many international organizations to help promote the rights of creators and to combat flagrant abuses.

Specifically, ESA is supportive of efforts by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to achieve implementation and enforcement of the WIPO's digital treaties–the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).  These treaties provide the essential legal foundations to facilitate online commerce in entertainment software 

ESA is likewise supportive of efforts by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and a number of countries to promote accountability among those engaged in the business of replicating content on optical media products, such as CDs and DVDs. 

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The ESA and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)

The ESA supports the inclusion of rigorous and mutually beneficial intellectual property provisions in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the United States and other nations, and works to promote passage of resulting agreements through coalitions such as the Entertainment Industry Coalition for Free Trade (EIC).

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The ESA and International Dialogue

The ESA serves as an liaison on intellectual property issues affecting computer and video games, and with dozens of international visitors each year, including prominent legislators, judges, enforcement personnel and government administrators from many countries. The ESA's Intellectual Property Policy staff also serves as a liaison to international entertainment software industry groups, including the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA), to promote consideration of issues of common interest to publishers of entertainment software products. 

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