The two documents have opposing aims: ours is to reveal how well countries respect the interests of consumers in their copyright laws and enforcement practices, whereas the 301 Report is only concerned with the interests of IP owners.

Via Celia Blanco:

The IP consumers’ report that Consumers International prepared to “combat” the 301 US report has been launched.

(I ended up doing the Spanish part as a P2P Foundation collaborator)

Here’s the announcement:

“Consumers International released its IP Watch List to the media (following a successful soft launch in Sydney earlier this month), shortly before the US government released its own Special 301 Report. The two documents have opposing aims: ours is to reveal how well countries respect the interests of consumers in their copyright laws and enforcement practices, whereas the 301 Report is only concerned with the interests of IP owners.

It is regrettable to see that the transition from the Bush to the Obama administration has not resulted in a more even-handed and compassionate Special 301 Report. The 301 Report continues to cite countries as failing to adequately protect the interests of US IP owners, even though those countries are acting within their international obligations and in many cases serving their citizens’ interests better than countries with stricter IP laws.

More Information:

The Consumers International IP Watch List and the USTR Special 301 Report may be downloaded from these addresses respectively:

* http://A2Knetwork.org/watchlist

(also here)

See also news coverage here.