Another item of interest at Strategypage.com is this essay by James Dunnigan. It seems that Russia has petitioned the United Nations to outlaw the production and sale of AK-47 knockoffs.
I’ve always wanted to make a living as a writer, so I’m actually in favor of reasonable copyright and patent laws. But I can’t help but wonder what the Russians are trying to accomplish here. What do they think the UN will be able to do, anyway?
It also strikes me as ironic that Russia is appealing to the one body which has been at the forefront of efforts to ban the sale of small arms. While it’s logical to assume that the UN would be in favor of outlawing the sale of knockoff AK’s, I don’t think they’ll be too thrilled that the main reason for the measure is so Russia can reap the benefits of exporting assault rifles.
It’s a strange world we live in.
Copyright and the money that can be made from it. Russia gets a monopoly on a highly desired weapon. This doesn’t strike me as any different from Hermes putting the Jelly Kelly-fake out of business.
Nobody likes competition. It’s well known that American firearms manufacturers allied themselves with gun prohibitionists to support the Gun Control Act of 1968, which banned importation of inexpensive military surplus weapons. It appears the Russians are seeking to do something similar.
Sure thing, guys. But the question isn’t why the Russians want to get patent protections on their most exported and popular example of engineering, but why they think the United Nations is the place to go when there is an enforcement issue.
James
Why not? Good PR, and other countries pay the bills.
Hmm, Russia doesn’t want anybody cloning their weapons. maybe the US should politely ask them about their massive program to clone B29s in the late 40’s
Kinda ironic that the Russians want copyright protection on the AK 47’s while they don’t do anything about the massive software and entertainment piracy in their country. In the software arena I work in, their reputation for theft and piracy is so prevalent, we actually turn down projects involving Russians for fear of getting rip off.
Didn’t the Euros try to get some sort of copyright protection for feta cheese and provolone through the UN recently?