The Smart Border Declaration signed by the USA and Canada in 2001 is a document aimed at the maintenance of the border security and the facilitation of the immigrants and goods control. The expanded version of the report implies such new collaboration fields as technology and biosecurity. One of the key points of this cooperation is the introduction of the developed biometrics standards – the inclusion of biometric data in the documents under the US-VISIT program. This measure helps to track the flow of people entering the countries. The flow of goods is controlled by means of a similar system – the Container Security Initiative. Moreover, the countries work on the advancement of the air recognition technology NEXUS-Air and the further upgrade of passenger and commercial processing. Another significant aspect of the collaboration involves the exchange of scientific experience in the questions of security technologies. On the whole, “Smart Borders” is a series of planned actions both Canada and the USA perform in order to ensure the countries’ security (Smart Border Action Plan: Status Report, 2004).
An intellectual property theft is a violation of one of the following rights: copyright, patent or trademark. The intellectual property system protects the right-owners, enabling them to appeal to a law-court for redress in case of any infringement (Appendix A – Executive Order 13,133, 2000). As far as the violation of the intellectual property does not imply the theft of any tangible assets, this kind of law breach is particularly hard to track. The holder might remain unaware of the infringement for a long period. Therefore, the government’s primary aim is to rend the IP violations ultimately undesirable. One can point out the two major factors that can serve as preventative measures. First of all, the heavier punishment the law warrants, the fewer people would be eager to break it. The possibility of getting a term can gravely reduce one’s desire to violate the IP right. Secondly, the public spirit is able to contribute to the reduction of the infringements’ number as well. The social refusal to use or buy the products that are known to be spread illegally is likely to influence the pirates’ gaining, thus, making the entire procedure less profitable. Either way, intellectual property protection is of vital importance for any country, as the IP violations can jeopardize both the economic and the security aspects of its life. Therefore, the IP rights are to be constantly enforced.
The modern tendency of the extensive Wide Web use not only offers numerous opportunities for the society but also creates extra risks for illegal activity. This fact provoked the creation of the Executive Order 13,133, which is aimed at preventing Internet misuse. The government formed a working group to monitor and address the illicit conduct that takes place in the virtual world. The group is supposed to work out a series of recommendations intended to minimize or completely avoid the risks the Internet use implies (Appendix A – Executive Order 13,133, 2000). One of the primary focus areas of the group is providing protection of intellectual property rights. It should be noted that Internet misuse can undermine both national security and the economy. Mail fraud, identity theft, credit card crimes – these are only several examples of numerous illegal actions performed via the Internet. These lawless acts need to be carefully tracked and repressed.
Reference list
Appendix A – Executive Order 13,133. (2000). Web.
Smart Border Action Plan: Status Report. (2004). Web.