Rio, November 22, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Minister of Justice, Paulo de Tarso Ribeiro, declared today that the biggest difficulty in combatting piracy in Brazil is the high degree of informality in the economy, which in some cities amounts to 40%. During a seminar, sponsored by the Rio Federation of Commerce, on piracy, contraband, and intellectual property, Ribeiro emphasized that, besides being a crime, piracy costs the country a high price in economic inefficiency, causing unemployment most of all. In his view, the strategy to combat it has to involve not only judicial organs and the police, but all sectors of society.

According to the Interministerial Committee to Combat Piracy, Brazil fails to collect around R$ 10 billion (approximately US$ 2.9 billion) in taxes per year, because of piracy. (DAS)