DOCSLIB.ORG

K Effective Options for Grey Imports in Emerging Markets

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
K Effective Options for Grey Imports in Emerging Markets Building trademark expertise since 1986 GREY IMPORTS K EnforcingEnforcing outsideoutside thethe trademarktrademark IN SUMMARY boxbox – The rules on grey imports in emerging markets are highly varied K – Creative enforcement strategies can Effective options for grey help address the challenge and imports in emerging markets improve brand protection By Lisa Peets, Victoria Hanley and Siobhán Fisher of AUTHORS Covington & Burling LLP Lisa Peets (left) leads the European IP oday’s global economy offers brand governing grey imports in emerging Practice at Covington & Burling. Her owners increasing access to so- markets, coupled with the lack of expeditious practice focuses on intellectual property called “emerging” markets. This and effective judicial processes, necessitates a and information technology, and T embraces both legislative advocacy and new openness also means that national customised approach to the problem. This IP enforcement. borders rarely impede the unauthorised article first explores the challenges of grey movement of goods – including grey goods – market trademark enforcement in four Victoria Hanley (middle) is an associate in emerging markets. As a result, brand developing regions – emerging EU markets, in Covington & Burling’s Brussels office. owners may find themselves with brand non-EU CEE markets, Russia and China – Her practice covers European Union intellectual property, communications protection issues in far-flung markets, and then outlines possible approaches to and competition law, and focuses on including those in which they have not yet address these challenges. policy reform and legislative advocacy. contemplated commercial operations. Emerging markets may be culturally and Emerging markets in the European Union Siobhán Fisher (right) works with the legally diverse, but they are almost European courts at the highest level have European IP Practice at Covington & universally disposed to fostering grey confirmed that brand owners may rely on Burling. Her practice focuses on intellectual property, and centers on IP business practices – practices that erode a trademark rights to prevent the sale of grey enforcement, lobbying and IP policy rights owner’s control over their brand and imports from outside the European reform in Central and Eastern Europe, damage the brand’s integrity. Enforcement Economic Area (EEA) (comprising the 27 Russia and the CIS. options for grey imports and product EU Member States along with non-EU diversion vary significantly from market to markets Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein). market, but the consistent themes are that Once a good has been put on the market in the civil court systems move slowly, IP cases the EEA with the brand owner’s consent, are not prioritised, and the threat of civil (or however, the right is “exhausted” and the even criminal) enforcement may not carry good can travel freely across national the same weight as in developed markets. borders. The varied nature of the legal regimes This rule flows from the 1989 Trade www.ipworld.com Trademark World #220 | September 2009 | 45 K GREY IMPORTS Building trademark expertise since 1986 Marks Harmonization Directive (“the imposes a blanket restriction to enforcing state of play in Croatia and international Directive”). With limited exceptions, in order trademark rights on brand owners who have exhaustion in Serbia, for example, it is to promote the free movement of goods and put their product on the market anywhere in inadvisable to rely on a one-size-fits-all services within the common European the world, effectively permitting grey strategy. What is consistently crucial to take market, Article 7(1) of the Directive prohibits imports entry into the EEA via Romania. into account is how the relevant local brand owners from invoking trademarks to Even in the new EU Member States whose authority views grey imports and their prevent the distribution of goods that have national law adheres to the EU principle of willingness to take enforcement measures. already been put on the market in the regional exhaustion, national authorities may European Community with their consent. not consider grey goods as harmful and Russia Until last year, however, it was an open hence may be reluctant prevent their Grey market imports seemingly flourish in question as to whether this regional importation. In Estonia, for example, on Russia, and even careful vetting of partners exhaustion of rights applied only to the 27 paper the legal regime conforms to EU and robust distribution agreements may EU Markets, or whether EEA markets were principles; in practice, however, law leave a brand owner facing product diversion bound by a regional exhaustion rule as well; enforcement agencies are generally unwilling problems. Recent changes to the trademark as a result, Norway served as a legal route to take action. Some Member States consider enforcement regime have only served to for parallel imports to enter the EEA. grey goods to be a consumer friendly price further complicate enforcement options for The European Court of Justice (ECJ) and control regulator, as is the case in Bulgaria. brand owners. the EFTA court, which together with the Hopefully, as European regulators forge In practice, historically, Russian customs EFTA Surveillance Authority is responsible ahead with efforts for closer cooperation, it authorities and courts have treated grey for ensuring that Norway, Iceland and should only be a matter of time before the imports as an administrative offence. More Lichtenstein respect their obligations under practices in emerging Europe fall in step with recently, however, courts have moved away the EEA Agreement, have now aligned their the practices in older Member States. from this view. The Code on Administrative diverging views on the interpretation of Furthermore, pending changes in EU Offences requires that goods must be Article 7(1). In the 1997 Mag Instruments legislation may provide brand owners with “unlawfully” marked with a trademark to case, the EFTA court ruled that Article 7(1) additional tools to fight grey market give rise to an infringement; because grey permits the EEA markets to introduce or activities. EU Regulation 1383/2003 (the goods are original (rather than fraudulent), maintain the principle of international “Regulation”) enables right-holders, with the courts have concluded that the marks are not exhaustion – thereby sanctioning Norway’s help of national customs authorities, to unlawfully affixed to the goods per se, and principle of international exhaustion and prevent counterfeit goods from crossing the thus there is no administrative cause of providing an entry point into the EU’s external border; the Regulation does action. Unhelpfully, the long-awaited Community for grey imports. Just over six not, however, provide brand owners with a Resolution of the Russian Supreme Court months later, the ECJ, in the Silhouette case, cause of action in relation to genuine and Arbitration Court reinforces this view, ruled the contrary, concluding that national products, or grey goods. In a move to further despite earlier drafts of the Resolution laws providing for the international harmonise the customs actions that can be having indicated that grey imports are exhaustion of rights are contrary to Article taken by brand owners, the European administrative offences. 7(1). This was subsequently confirmed by the Commission is currently considering Prior to these decisions and the ECJ in the 1999 Sebago case, which extending the scope of the Regulation to Resolution, the Russian customs authority established that Member States’ national laws cover grey imports from outside the was empowered and generally willing to cannot provide for the international Community, which ideally would further align seize grey goods if a brand owner had exhaustion of trademark rights. Nearly a divergent practices among Member States. registered its marks in Russia and filed decade later, in the 2008 L’Oréal case, the seizure requests with the Federal Customs EFTA Court finally aligned its view with Emerging European markets outside the EU Register. The new view embodied in the that of the ECJ and confirmed that there is A number of the EU’s bordering countries in Resolution, that grey goods de facto cannot no justification to interpret Article 7(1) Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”) are be counterfeit, throws this practice into differently in EEA law and EC law. As a already candidates (Croatia, the former limbo and it remains to be seen whether the result, Norway can no longer be considered Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey) customs authority will be rendered impotent to be a legal gateway for grey imports to or potential candidates (Albania, Bosnia and with respect to the seizure of grey goods. enter into the EU. Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Brand owners may take solace in the fact This string of cases also makes it doubly Serbia) for future accession to the EU. The that the same reasoning is unlikely to be clear that regional exhaustion and trademark ongoing negotiations over the intellectual applied to civil trademark enforcement. rights should be the guiding principle property chapter of the accession agreements Based on the general interpretation of the throughout the entire EEA and that its should ultimately result in candidates’ national Civil Code, which states that placing a mark Contracting Parties (which include the now laws conforming to EU principles of on goods for the purpose of import into 27 EU Member States)
Load more

Recommended publications
  • To Scholars and Students Interested in Hungarian, East Europe'an, and Cold War History
    to scholars and students interested in Hungarian, East Europe'an, and Cold War history. A basic knowledge of Hungarian history will be useful to gain full advantage of this work. The image of Hungary as the "first domino" in the eventual collapse of Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe is perhaps a little too deterministic. Granville's text makes clear that she also believes that chance plays a role in decision making and history in general. Granville concludes that "multiarchival research tends to confirm the postrevisionists' theory about the Cold War: it was everyone's fault and no one's fault. It resulted from the emerging bipolar structure of the international system, a power vacuum in the center of Europe, and spiraling misconceptions." (p. 214) John C. Swanson Utica College of Syracuse University After the Collapse of Communism: Comparative Lessons of Transition. Edited by Mi- chael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge Uni- versity Press, 2004. vii, 264 pp. $60.00. This book derives from an autumn 2000 politics conference at Princeton marking one decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Six of seven papers focus on political de- velopments in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics (FSU). One paper deals with economics and four concentrate on Russia. The title suggests an overview of social progress a decade after the fall. The book is better understood as a collection of papers on politics each of which is a step along a re- search agenda. I recommend it to anyone concerned with democracy or with politics after the collapse.
    [Show full text]
  • The Charcoal Grey Market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan (2021)
    COMMODITY REPORT BLACK GOLD The charcoal grey market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan SIMONE HAYSOM I MICHAEL McLAGGAN JULIUS KAKA I LUCY MODI I KEN OPALA MARCH 2021 BLACK GOLD The charcoal grey market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan ww Simone Haysom I Michael McLaggan Julius Kaka I Lucy Modi I Ken Opala March 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank everyone who gave their time to be interviewed for this study. They would like to extend particular thanks to Dr Catherine Nabukalu, at the University of Pennsylvania, and Bryan Adkins, at UNEP, for playing an invaluable role in correcting our misperceptions and deepening our analysis. We would also like to thank Nhial Tiitmamer, at the Sudd Institute, for providing us with additional interviews and information from South Sudan at short notice. Finally, we thank Alex Goodwin for excel- lent editing. Interviews were conducted in South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya between February 2020 and November 2020. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Simone Haysom is a senior analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), with expertise in urban development, corruption and organized crime, and over a decade of experience conducting qualitative fieldwork in challenging environments. She is currently an associate of the Oceanic Humanities for the Global South research project based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Ken Opala is the GI-TOC analyst for Kenya. He previously worked at Nation Media Group as deputy investigative editor and as editor-in-chief at the Nairobi Law Monthly. He has won several journalistic awards in his career.
    [Show full text]
  • Trademark, Copyright & Advertising
    TRADEMARK, COPYRIGHT & ADVERTISING Locke Lord’s Looking Ahead 2011 Expect Fierce Battles Over Keyword Confusion Google’s AdWords program earns billions of dollars from the sale of trademark “keywords.” Competitors use trademark keywords to bring consumers to their ads displayed on Google’s Search Results page. Competitors pay Google a fee each time a user clicks on their ad. Looking ahead to 2011, expect to see: 1) ramped up battles over confusion arising from the use of trademark keywords; and 2) Google’s replacement of the term ”Sponsored Link” with the word “Ads,” on Google’s Search Results page. 53 • Looking Ahead 2011 • Trademark, Copyright & Advertising Trademark Trends The Fourth Circuit will be a primary battlefield on the keyword front in 2011. See Rosetta Stone’s appeal of the district court decision Trademark forecasts for 2011 show strong winds in Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google Inc., 2010 WL 3063152 (E.D. Va. blowing in the direction of: Aug. 3, 2010). The district court saw nothing wrong with Google’s • Expanded application of the Fair Use doctrine making money from its sale of trademark keywords and denied all permitting defendants greater freedom to use plaintiff’s of Rosetta Stone’s claims on summary judgment. In finding no likely mark to 1) describe defendant’s goods; and 2) refer confusion, the court: to plaintiff. • Dismissed Rosetta Stone’s evidence of actual confusion • Expanded use of the First Amendment right of free as “de minimus.” speech to exempt non-commercial parody, criticism and comment from liability. • Disregarded as “unreliable” Rosetta Stone’s survey showing consumers thought Rosetta Stone endorsed the competitor’s ad.
    [Show full text]
  • Pekka Pättiniemi, Heloisa Perista, Victor Pestoff, Roger Spear, Yohanan Stryjan, Isabel Vidal and Flaviano Zandonai
    IMAGES AND CONCEPTS OF THE THIRD SECTOR IN EUROPE Jacques DEFOURNY Victor PESTOFF (eds.) WP no. 08/02 with the collaboration of Carlo Borzaga, Jacques Defourny, Bernard Enjolras, Adalbert Evers, Laurent Fraisse, Giulia Galera, Jean-Louis Laville, Eva Leś, Vincent Lhuillier, Anne Liveng, Mary O'Shaughnessy, Pekka Pättiniemi, Heloisa Perista, Victor Pestoff, Roger Spear, Yohanan Stryjan, Isabel Vidal and Flaviano Zandonai © EMES European Research Network 2008 Table of contents Towards a European conceptualization of the third sector.........................................................3 Belgium.....................................................................................................................................11 Denmark....................................................................................................................................13 Finland .....................................................................................................................................15 France........................................................................................................................................17 Germany....................................................................................................................................19 Ireland.......................................................................................................................................21 Italy...........................................................................................................................................23
    [Show full text]
  • What Does the Online Gambling Market(S) in the EU Look Like?
    What Does The Online Gambling Market(s) In The EU Look Like? A regulatory & data perspective Produced for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, public hearing, European Parliament, June 15, 2011 Regulatory Data Map 2011: Online Gambling Online gambling regulated Online gambling prohibited Online gambling grey market Source: GamblingCompliance, Regulatory Reports. 2 Regulatory Data Map 2011: Current State of Play Online monopoly / exclusive licence Online local licence requirement Online open market Note: this map represents the predominate type of framework as some jurisdictions have a mix. Source: GamblingCompliance, Regulatory Reports. 3 Member states addressing online gambling Member states with known online gambling law reform discussions (including early stage political intensions), current proposals, draft laws before European Commission or soon to be / recently passed legislation. Source: GamblingCompliance, Regulatory Reports, market news and analysis. 4 Product data: verticals across EU From legislative analysis of member state legislation and known national operators offering online services, the following product verticals and number are known... 5 Source: GamblingCompliance Regulatory Team, Regulatory Reports. But what do we know from a reliable data perspective? • As the Green Paper ‐ which referenced estimates –suggested, limited data is available. • Only two gambling regulator’s produce monthly (Italy) and quarterly online gambling statistics (France). • Not all member states have completed prevalence studies to gauge levels of problem gambling. • This results in a patchwork of reliable data across the EU. • Now to look at some of the data which is available.... 6 Italian statistics • Italy was the first major market in continental Europe to regulate its online gambling market.
    [Show full text]
  • Grey Market Goods and Modern International Commerce: a Question of Free Trade
    Fordham International Law Journal Volume 10, Issue 2 1986 Article 6 Grey Market Goods and Modern International Commerce: A Question of Free Trade Richard A. Fogel∗ ∗ Copyright c 1986 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berke- ley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj Grey Market Goods and Modern International Commerce: A Question of Free Trade Richard A. Fogel Abstract This Note argues that the importance of trademark laws to the resolution of the grey goods controversy is outweighed by the overriding public policy considerations of international free trade. Part I discusses the background of the grey goods controversy by examining the history of the controlling statutory and case law and the recent grey goods cases. Part II demonstrates that trademark owners are not significantly injured by the availability of grey goods, but actually gain windfall profits if there is an absolute bar on grey goods. Part III argues that preventing impor- tation of grey goods injures international free trade. This Note concludes that grey marketing is a natural and healthy economic consequence of restrictions on international free trade and should not be discouraged. GREY MARKET GOODS AND MODERN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE: A QUESTION OF FREE TRADE INTRODUCTION "Grey market goods" or "grey goods" are commodities bearing an authentic trademark that are manufactured under the supervision of the trademark owner, but diverted outside the trademark owner's designated distribution channel.' These goods are eventually sold in competition with the mer- chandise of authorized distributors. For example, a United States retailer who is denied an authorized distributorship by the owner of the United States trademark rights may purchase the same trademarked merchandise from an authorized distrib- utor in another country.
    [Show full text]
  • Thinking Strategically About ICT Convergence
    44619 Nothing endures but change: Public Disclosure Authorized Thinking strategically about ICT convergence Rajendra Singh and Siddhartha Raja Public Disclosure Authorized Acknowledgements Public Disclosure Authorized This paper was prepared as part of the analytical work program of the World Bank Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (www.worldbank.org/ict). The authors would like to acknoweledge the inputs and contributions of a number of reviewers, commentators, and supporters including Bjorn Wellenius, Boutheina Guermazi, Charles Kenny, Christine Qiang, David Satola, Eloy Vidal, Enrique Rueda-Sabater, Eric Crabtree, Gareth Locksley, Jeroma Bezzina, Jonathan Levy, Lacinda Barrow, Mark Williams, Mohsen Khalil, Nripendra Misra, Paul Noumba Um, Peter Smith, Philippe Dongier, Sara Roche, Sherille Ismail, Yann Burtin, and Yongsoo Kim for their comments, critiques, and support. All errors remain our own. Public Disclosure Authorized Table of contents 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1 2. Understanding convergence....................................................................................................1 3. Convergence is reality............................................................................................................. 2 4. Opportunities and challenges of convergence for the ICT sector........................................... 5 Opportunities for users...........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Grey Market of Gambling in Poland – Counteraction and Forecasts
    Financial Law No. 22 (2)/2021 Review UNIVERSITY OF GDAŃSK • MASARYK UNIVERSITY • PAVEL JOZEF ŠAFÁRIK UNIVERSITY • UNIVERSITY OF VORONEZH http://www.ejournals.eu/FLR PIOTR WIŚNIEWSKI∗ GREY MARKET OF GAMBLING IN POLAND – COUNTERACTION AND FORECASTS Abstract The article relates to the dynamics of change of the grey market of gambling in Poland. The meaning of legal regulations concerning organisation of gambling and gaming tax within the mechanism to prevent shadow economy of gambling constitute the basic research issue. Its purpose is to identify legal solutions that effectively protect public finance. A broad definition of the phenomenon of the grey market of gambling comprising distortion of the market competitiveness mechanism for the business makes allowance for its consequence in the form of tax gap, which is a real loss for the public finance. Multidimensional, complex nature of gambling justifies diversification of test methodology and application of a dogmatic-legal method. The selected model of scientific cognition is based on an intuitive-synthetic assumption that the gambling matter is not completely recognisable due to the dynamics of the occurring processes. The available statistical works that give rise to the conclusions related to the effectives of the adopted legal solutions have empirical value. The efficiency of legal solutions enhancing the attractiveness of legal gambling activities, which guarantee cash flow transparency and ensure safety of gamers has been confirmed. Creating optimal conditions for conducting legal gambling activity is of basic importance when it comes to combating shadow economy of gambling. Decreasing tax rates along with tax bases has a stimulating impact on the increase of the number of entities operating in a legal manner on the ∗ Piotr Wiśniewski, trainee advocate, PhD student preparing his doctoral thesis on financial law.
    [Show full text]
  • Gray-Market Imports: Causes, Consequences and Responses
    University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law 1986 Gray-Market Imports: Causes, Consequences and Responses Michael S. Knoll University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons, Economic Policy Commons, International Business Commons, International Economics Commons, International Trade Law Commons, Law and Economics Commons, and the Legal Remedies Commons Repository Citation Knoll, Michael S., "Gray-Market Imports: Causes, Consequences and Responses" (1986). Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law. 1161. https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/1161 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law by an authorized administrator of Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GRAY-MARKET IMPORTS: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND RESPONSES MICHAEL S. KNOLL* This article explores the issu.e of gray-market imports. The author explains the four causes of gray-market imports and explores the possibility of private remedies in order to stem the flow of these imports. The article then turns to the possibility of protection in the public sector by discussing pertinent statutory provisions and the development of the case law in this area. A PERSPECTIVE ON GRAY-MARKET IMPORTS In recent years, there has been dramatic growth in the size of the gray market, otherwise referred to as the parallel-import market. 1 This growth, contemporaneous with a strong rise in the • (A.B., 1977, A.M., 1980, Ph.D., 1983, J.D., 1984, The University of Chicago) Legal Advisor to the Vice Chairman, United States International Trade Commission.
    [Show full text]
  • Grey Zone in the Real Estate Market
    www.degruyter.com/view/j/remav GREY ZONE IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET Ewa Kucharska-Stasiak, prof. Faculty of Economics and Sociology University of Lodz e-mail: [email protected] Abstract The grey area exists in all countries of the world. It is visible in various areas of activity, which means that it is widespread. It is a sign of the weak state institutional structures and overregulation of the economy. Traces of it are also visible on the real estate market. This paper argues that the size of the shadow economy in the real estate market is significantly undervalued. For this purpose, areas of its occurrence which had not been included in previous estimates were indicated, prepared by the Central Statistical Office and the Gdansk Institute for Market Economics. Two ways of tracking the grey zone were used: press reports and case studies. Key words: grey economy, informal economy, real estate market. JEL Classification: R30, L85. Citation: Kucharska-Stasiak E., 2016, Grey Zone in the Real Estate Market, Real Estate Management and Valuation, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 83-92. DOI: 10.1515/remav-2016-0023 Introduction The grey area occurs in different areas of human activity, revealing itself with an uneven force. We argue that the real estate market is particularly predisposed to its development. The aim of this study is to present the available estimates of the size of the grey economy in the real estate market and indicate the causes of its relatively high proportions. We argue that the exposed size of the informal zone in the real estate market is undervalued.
    [Show full text]
  • Business and Legal Strategies for Combating Grey-Market Imports
    LAWRENCE M. FRIEDMAN* Business and Legal Strategies for Combating Grey-Market Imports U.S.-based manufacturers and exclusive licensees of foreign products often find themselves in the unlikely position of competing against their own goods imported from abroad. These competing products are parallel imports or grey- market goods. Grey-market goods are products sold in the United States that were lawfully produced, but which the manufacturer or authorized reseller did not intend for sale in the United States. Three distinct scenarios are the most common sources of parallel imports. First, a producer may manufacturer goods in the United States for export sale only and find that the merchandise has been diverted back to the U.S. market either before or after exportation. Second, goods made abroad by a foreign licensee may be imported into the United States without the authoriza- tion of the U.S. licensor. Finally, goods made abroad either by the manufacturer or a licensee may be imported into the U.S. market to compete with goods offered by the authorized U.S. licensee. This article reviews the legal framework surrounding the parallel importation phenomenon and seeks strategies by which U.S. producers and licensees may protect their interests against unauthorized importations. All of the merchandise discussed below is genuine in that it was manufactured by a company authorized to do so. This article does not address the importation of counterfeit merchandise or products that infringe a U.S. patent.' Note: The American Bar Association grants permission to reproduce this article, or a part thereof, in any not-for-profit publication or handout provided such material acknowledges original publication in this issue of The International Lawyer and includes the title of the article and the name of the author.
    [Show full text]
  • Markus Kuhn Comment on the Green Paper
    Markus Kuhn Schlehenweg 9 D-91080 Uttenreuth Germany phone/fax: +49 9131 52226 · Markus Kuhn · Schlehenweg 9 · D-91080 Uttenreuth · electronic mail: European Commission [email protected] Mr. Mario Monti 1996-05-23 200 rue de la Loi B-1049 Brussels Belgium ·· your date your reference Comment on the Commission Green Paper “Legal Protection for Encrypted Services in the Internal Market – Consultation on the Need for Community Action” published 1996-03-06 Dear Mr. Monti! With great interest I have read the Commission’s Green Paper on the suggested legal harmonization with regard to pay-TV piracy in the European Union. As this document invites any person to participate in the open consultations, I would like to send you with this letter my comments about various issues discussed in the Green Paper. I believe that my comments provide a view on the need for special laws against unauthorized pay-TV reception that deserve serious consideration. Please let me first briefly introduce myself. I am a 25-year old German computer science student very close to graduation and I am specializing in computer security and the use of encrypted services in the Information Society. I plan to pursue a career in the now rapidly emerging European industry dealing with computer security, encryption, and access control. This explains my strong interest in the Green Paper as a prospective member of the access control device industry. I have also spent during the past two years considerable time with analyzing existing pay-TV access control systems for personal reasons. My previous work includes the im- plementation of a software for real-time image reconstruction of the BSkyB broadcasts on Astra by reversing the active-line-rotation encryption mathematically, the implementation of an MS-DOS personal computer software (“Season7 ”) that allows to replace a BSkyB smart card by a PC with a simple cheap smart card connector adapter cable, and the implementation of an MS-DOS PC software (“Phoenix”) that allowed to reenable expired –2– BSkyB smart cards.
    [Show full text]