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MUMBAI:
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has released
its annual Special 301 report on the adequacy and effectiveness
of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection by US trading
partners.
The
report highlights shortfalls in intellectual property protection
and also acknowledges the progress made by some US trading
partners.
Chinese
and Russian concerns highlighted: Again
this year, USTR’s Special 301 report highlights the prominence
of concerns with respect to China and Russia, in spite of
some evidence of improvement. The report also provides an
opportunity to acknowledge those trading partners whose efforts
to improve intellectual property protection are producing
positive results both for U.S. right holders and for home-grown
innovators in those countries.
Russia
remains a focus of US trade policy in the area of intellectual
property. Large-scale production and distribution of IP-infringing
optical media and minimally-restrained Internet piracy are
among the major problems that require more enforcement action.
The coming months will be a critical periodUSTR notes as Russia
moves to implement a variety of legal and law enforcement
improvements to which it committed as part of a bilateral
agreement with the United States on Russia’s eventual
accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Implementation
of these commitments will be essential to completing the final
multilateral negotiations on the overall accession package.
Russia
USTR notes made ambitious commitments to improve its IPR protection
and enforcement. As part of the Special 301 report, USTR is
also announcing an out-of-cycle review to evaluate Russia’s
progress.
In
addition to the out-of-cycle review for Russia, USTR announces
that similar reviews will be carried out with respect to Brazil,
the Czech Republic and Pakistan.
Out-of-cycle
reviews are conducted on countries that warrant further review
before the next Special 301 Report and could result in changes
in their status before next April’s report.
USTR
Susan C. Schwab says, "Innovation is the lifeblood of
a dynamic economy here in the United States, and around the
world. We must defend ideas, inventions and creativity from
rip off artists and thieves. This report underscores the Administration’s
scrutiny in pinpointing challenges in protecting IPR and signals
to our trading partners that effective IPR protection will
remain a critical focus in US policy”.
As
the scale of production and trade in pirated and counterfeit
goods continues to expand globally, USTR says that its Special
301 report constitutes a critical policy tool for pinpointing
problems, and provides a basis for constructive engagement
with U.S. trading partners in order to address these challenges.
This
report makes clear that many US trading partners increasingly
appreciate the link between innovation-fueled economic vitality
and effective government enforcement against those who produce
and trade in pirated and counterfeit goods. This report makes
equally clear, though, that U.S. right holders continue to
face major challenges to protecting their intellectual property
in many parts of the world.
China:
In conjunction with the release of the report, USTR has
announced the results of a year-long review of strengths and
weaknesses in IPR protection and enforcement in key Chinese
provinces. “Leadership at the provincial and local levels
is critical to improving China’s IPR climate. By highlighting
local problems and also giving credit where it is due, we
encourage local leadership” adds Schwab.
While
the US continues to work with China in many fora to strengthen
that country’s IPR regime, high levels of copyright piracy
and trademark counterfeiting remain of concern. The US recently
sought consultations under the WTO to address a number of
discrete deficiencies in China’s IPR regime. The US has
since been joined by Canada, EU, Japan, and Mexico as third
parties in these consultations.
Talking
about China Scwab says, “Our recent decision to pursue
IPR-related concerns in China through consultations under
WTO dispute settlement rules demonstrates our determination
to defend vigorously American innovation. The Special 301
report flags many other issues on which we hope to remain
constructively engaged with China, building on the recognition
of many Chinese officials that their country has its own huge
stake in effective IPR protection.”
Improvements
Noted for Several Trading Partners: In addition to flagging
prominent intellectual property concerns of US trade policy,
the Special 301 report also provides an opportunity to recognize
progress. Brazil is being moved to the Watch List (from Priority
Watch List), reflecting significant improvements in copyright
enforcement. USTR will conduct an out-of-cycle review to evaluate
the sustainability of the progress Brazil has achieved with
respect to IPR enforcement, and to encourage progress on certain
outstanding IPR concerns. Five other trading partners –
Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, the EU, and Latvia – are
being removed from the Special 301 listing altogether.
This
year’s Special 301 report places 43 countries on the
Priority Watch List (PWL), Watch List (WL) or the Section
306 monitoring list. India is on the PWL.
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