12
and maintenance of a patent over its life which far exceed those in the United States and other countries. The decision to reduce filing and issuance fees was made in December 1996 and became effective July 1, 1997.
Greece: Ambassador Barshefsky today announced the initiation of WTO dispute settlement consultations with Greece and the European Union regarding the high rates of television piracy in Greece. In doing so, Ambassador Barshefsky nevertheless applauded the recent steps taken by the Government of Greece toward addressing this problem, including the recent closure of a number of television stations. She noted, however, that approximately 150 Greek TV stations continue to broadcast U.S.-owned motion pictures and television programming without authorization. We look to Greece and the European Union to recognize their obligations and to move quickly to end piracy of U.S. copyrighted works.
India was a Priority Foreign Country from 1991-1993. India has failed to implement its obligations under Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of the TRIPS Agreement. These articles require developing countries not yet providing patent protection for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products to provide a "mailbox" in which to file patent applications, and the possibility of up to five years of exclusive marketing rights for these products until patent protection is provided. As a result, the United States initiated WTO dispute settlement procedures with India on this matter. In December 1997, the WTO Appellate Body upheld a panel ruling in favor of the United States in this case. On February 13, 1998, India committed to implement the results of the dispute settlement proceedings. On April 22, 1998, India elaborated on this commitment, and pledged to amend its law to comply with its TRIPS obligations as soon as possible, and no later than April 19, 1999. While this commitment is welcome, India's patent and trademark laws continue to fall well short of providing adequate and effective protection. India has enacted modern copyright legislation, but improvements continue to be necessary in the enforcement area.
Indonesia has a wide range of serious and continuing deficiencies in its intellectual property regime: software, book, video, VCD, drug, and apparel trademark piracy; audiovisual market access barriers; inconsistent enforcement and ineffective legal system; and amendments to the copyright, patent and trademark laws that are not completely TRIPS consistent. There have been some improvements in the past year, however: the easing of distribution restrictions on the recording industry, the elimination of video import quotas, liberalization of the video import license provisions, the creation of a "Team of Control for the Distribution of Video Recordings," progress in updating the copyright law and more-closely adhering to treaty standards; and a number of successful copyright enforcement actions. We are recommending a series of steps the Government of Indonesia could take in the next six months that would materially improve the protection of intellectual property and we will review the situation if the changes warrant. Several of these steps involve progress toward resolving long-standing problems specific U.S. companies have faced in protecting their trademarks.
Israel's copyright law is inadequate and antiquated, enforcement and penalties are ineffective, and there is a rapidly growing problem of pirate audio CD production. We are elevating Israel to the
