Misleading Data Undermines Counterfeiting Claims

An anonymous reader writes "Canada has been the home to a growing debate on counterfeiting with politicians, law enforcement, and copyright lobby groups all pushing for stronger copyright and anti-counterfeiting laws. Writing in the Toronto Star, Michael Geist reports that the claims are based on fatally flawed data. The RCMP, Canada's national police force, has been claiming that counterfeiting costs Canadians $30 billion per year. When pressed on the issue, last week they admitted that the estimate was not based on any original research but rather on 'open source documents found on the Internet.'"

Wikipedia?

[PaintyThePirate]

open source documents found on the Internet.

So... what are the chances they just browsed Wikipedia for it?

Re:Michael Liberal Geist

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep.

Yawn.

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Great news for the U.S.

[MillionthMonkey]

As the Canadian dollar appreciates relative to the U.S. dollar, counterfeiters will make the transition from U.S. to Canadian money and Americans will save $30 billion per year. Not to mention that it's good for the Earth when counterfeiters find ways to cut down on their use of paper.

in mother russi

[Anonymous Coward]

misleading data mines you!

Piracy is not the problem

[teh moges]

I would wager that moves like "Evan Almighty" cost the industry more then piracy.

Open source on Internet != untrustworthy

[davidwr]

It just means "consider the source." If Alan Greenspan edited a financial article on Wikipedia and authenticated himself on his user page, I'd take his edit as more authoritative than if 132.147.63.12 made the same edit.

On the other hand, if anyone including the folks at 132.147.63.12 made an edit and quoted Greenspan, the quote checked out, and the edit itself was written well, I would consider it just as authoritative.

You should ALWAYS consider the sources - and the original sources if it's not one - when using other people's data.

Re:Oh, come on....

[trolltalk.com]

"Frankly Ottawa would be safer without Quebecer and OPP cars on the road..."

Hey, I resemble that remark, tabernac!

The reason Quebec drivers suck at it so much is because we're used to driving all over the road to avoid all the potholes of doom.

Actually, I agree with you ... between the speeding, cutting in and out of traffic, not signalling, (or signalling one way, and going another, or leaving the blinker on for the next 5 exits), the potholes, the craters, the detours, the badly planned road system (okay, it was never planned), the lack of street signs at a lot of intersections ...

Meanwhile, in other news ...

[PPH]

... the RCMP announces the breakup of a massive counterfeiting operation based in Shivering Moose, Alberta.

Re:$900 per person?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, those are Canadian dollars. *looks at exchange rate* Oh, wait.

Re:Oh, come on....

[tomstdenis]

The problem isn't that quebecers are the only ones with these driving faults. It's that you guys amplify them so darn much. I mean many ontarians cut in/out of traffic, speed, etc.

But it takes a quebecer to tailgate you 3 ft behind your car while doing 60 in a 60 (or 80 in an 80) for an entire 10 minute drive down carling ... At least the ontarians either back off or pass.

I so love driving the speed limit in the "fast lane." The looks on peoples faces are priceless. When they say "fast lane" they mean for going faster than the slow-pokes in the right hand lane who aren't doing the speed limit. They didn't mean for those wanting to speed.