ESA calls for international anti-piracy effort

Today, the Entertainment Software Association called on the federal government to pressure foreign countries to end software piracy. The game-industry lobby (and E3 organizer) said the request was urgent because of "continuing influence of organized crime in entertainment software counterfeiting and piracy."

The ESA announcement cited a forthcoming report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), of which the ESA is part. The report identifies Malaysia, China, and Russia--where allegedly hot Half-Life 2 copies are already being sold--as the biggest producers of pirated software. The ESA wants the U.S. to encourage these and other nations to either create new anti-pirating laws or enforce the ones already on the books.