Yo Bill: Dontcha know piracy is the lifeblood of developing countries?
Among the various complications of enforcing copyright laws abroad is that, historically, developing countries rely on piracy to jumpstart their own economies. Case in point: Romania, where president Traian Basescu told Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently that pirated Microsoft software helped the country build a vibrant software industry. Shortly thereafter in Russia, former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev asked Bill to intercede on behalf of a Russian teacher accused of using pirated software in his classroom.
The request is awkward for both Gates and Russia, the latter of which is mounting a high-profile crackdown on piracy as part of its efforts to join the World Trade Organization. Recent casualties of that crackdown include several popular bittorrent sites.
