- counsel to the President, the attorney general, a prosecutor, enforcement agencies and the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, was created in September.
- Macau adopted several essential improvements to its regulatory regime, including licensing requirements for all retail establishments dealing with optical media products, requiring all optical media products manufactured in Macau to bear a source identification (SID) code, adopting a decree mandating government use of authorized software, and improving its enforcement regime.
- The Royal Thai Government put before the cabinet for approval a bill to control the illegal reproduction of compact discs, and to further crack down on the manufacturing and distribution of pirate CDs.
- The "AntiPiracy Act" of the Czech Republic became effective on December 1, 1999. The Act set forth the conditions under which Custom authorities can take measures against alleged infringing and counterfeit goods.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) "Digital" Treaties.
The USG has continued to work at all levels to encourage countries to sign, ratify and implement the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. These treaties provide the essential legal framework for the continued spectacular growth of e-commerce in coming years by ensuring that valuable content is fully protected from piracy on the Internet. As of March 22, of the 159 members of WIPO, 51 have signed and 14 have ratified the copyright treaty, and 50 have signed and 13 have ratified the performances and phonograms treaty.
Ambassdor Barshefsky concluded by saying that the progress USTR has achieved as a direct result of this year's Special 301 annual review underscores the fact that Special 301 remains one of the most effective instruments in our trade policy arsenal.
Details of Ambassador Barshefsky's Special 301 decisions are provided in the attached Fact Sheet.
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