U.S. plays it tough on copyright rules

Fuente: Herald Tribune

The United States collides with its allies on many issues these days, from waging war in Iraq to failing to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. But one area where the Bush administration is aggressively pursuing a policy that will have effects for decades to come is little discussed: the enforcement of copyrights.

So determined is the United States to strengthen copyright and patent protection that it is, in effect, exporting its own standards through free trade agreements reached with countries or regions as diverse as Australia, Singapore and Central America