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Canada: Canada has been elevated to the watch list because the U.S. is concerned about current policies of the Canadian Radio-television Communication Commission (CRTC) which discriminate against non-Canadian television services. The U.S. is also concerned by the Government of Canada's announcement in December, 1994, of its intention to seek legislation to implement additional policies that discriminate against non-Canadian periodicals and to seek legislation which may discriminate against U.S. copyright holders. The U.S. is currently addressing certain CRTC policies in a section 301 investigation and will closely monitor the development of the proposed legislation affecting periodicals and copyrights.
Chile: Chile's patent term is TRIPs-inconsistent, pipeline protection remains unavailable, and there is inadequate protection for plant varieties and animal breeds. Additional problems are computer software piracy, and the absence of protection for semi-conductor mask works and encrypted satellite signals. Copyright protection for computer software and the existence of rental and importation rights remain unclear. We expect that these issues will be addressed as part of Chile's accession to the NAFTA.
China: The IPR enforcement agreement signed on February 26 commits China to strong measures to curb piracy. A top priority for the U.S. Government will be to ensure that this agreement is implemented fully and on schedule. The Administration will thus monitor very carefully Chinese implementation of the agreement.
Colombia: The Colombian Government has made significant improvements in its intellectual property rights protection; as a member of the Andean Pact, it has enacted three Decisions on intellectual property which improve protection over previous decisions, but still do not provide adequate and effective protection in all areas, particularly in the patent area. While Colombia has a modern copyright law, it has had difficulty in enforcing existing copyright laws. The U.S. will continue to seek a bilateral IPR agreement with Colombia.
Costa Rica: Costa Rica's patent law is deficient is several key areas. The term of patent coverage is a non-extendable 12 year term from the date of grant. In the case of products deemed to be in the "public interest", such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and agro-chemicals, fertilizers, and beverage/food products, the term of protection is only one year from date of grant.
Egypt: Egypt has taken significant steps in improving the legal framework for protection of copyright works, and has devoted resources to enforcing its copyright laws. The U.S. remains seriously concerned, however, about the lack of effective patent protection in Egypt. The U.S. urges Egypt to promptly enact a modern patent law that provides immediate patent protection for
