Spain about to return to piracy blacklist

Nothing to do with ships, but all to do with copyright and illegal downloading.

MADRID After years of diplomacy and legislation, Spain managed to be taken off the USA's piracy blacklist - called List 301, kept by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a powerful lobby group in Washington. The list names the countries with the least control over illegal copying of material, and always includes China, Mexico and Russia. The latest updated list is due to be published in April and, according to experts, is very likely to include Spain again. The US Congress has this country among the top five 'pirate' countries. The Alliance represents about 7% of the USA's GDP and its opinions are taken very seriously. Early in February the IIPA recommended the Department of Commerce to place Spain back on the list, which seriously impacts commerce. This is seen here as a failure of the controversial Sinde Law that came into being during the previous PSOE government in 2011. (A more detailed article on this subject will soon be available on SpainInformer.com)