I think you've raised a number of interesting questions.
Have things changed due to globalization? I think they probably have. Technology and the Internet have clearly made it both easier to copy and easier to distribute. I don't think it's necessarily a surprise that you're looking at these issues today as opposed to perhaps not seeing it as a critical issue even a few years ago. Technology is unquestionably making a change.
The question as to whether or not there is a model out there is perhaps the most challenging one. We'd all love to be able to point to a particular country that is doing very well on this issue and come up with the right legislative framework. I would suggest to you there isn't a model out there. We have a large number of countries moving in any number of different directions, most of them unsuccessfully, given the fact that we see this as a global issue.
You mentioned it's World Intellectual Property Day. This week the U.S. government will likely release its special 301 report, where it will unquestionably criticize Canada for the steps it has taken on issues related to copyright. But it's important to note we'll be joined by dozens of other countries that the U.S. will also criticize.
In fact, some of the recommendations the U.S. has been making on an anti-camcorder law, for example, haven't been adopted in virtually any other country outside the United States. There are only a handful of countries that have done so, and even in the U.S. it's been spectacularly unsuccessful.
Even with France as a proposed model...it's true that France certainly has a number of very powerful luxury goods companies and has done very well on some issues. But on other issues, they've taken steps that are perhaps interesting and could also serve as a model. For example, two weeks ago they established the first agency to look at issues on digital rights management, the technical locks that can be used to lock down CDs and DVDs, out of concern for the lack of interoperability, what consumers might lose, and the potential that these technologies might well be abused.
We see that many countries are taking a range of different approaches. I'd submit, as I did in my comments, that no one is for counterfeiting. Everyone is looking for the right solution.
I think to reach the right solution we really need more independent study and analysis about what is taking place in our own country. I think the reality is that once you get beyond some of the rhetoric, we just don't know.