TRIPS standards.
Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic has failed to correct deficiencies in its legal framework to meet its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement. Draft copyright legislation would be a major improvement over current law. However, draft patent legislation does not appear to meet TRIPS Agreement standards. The U.S. looks to the Government of the Dominican Republic to pass TRIPS-consistent legislation in both areas in conformance with its international commitments. We will continue to consult informally with the Government of the Dominican Republic in an effort to encourage it to resolve outstanding TRIPS compliance concerns as soon as possible in the coming months. Lax enforcement also remains a problem. Despite some reductions in video piracy, piracy of videos, sound recordings, computer software, books, and satellite and cable piracy remain widespread. The same is true for counterfeiting of well-known trademarks. In response to a petition from the copyright industry, USTR is reviewing the eligibility status of the Dominican Republic under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.
Egypt: Egypt's intellectual property laws do not comply fully with the TRIPS Agreement. The copyright law remains deficient in the area of protection for pre-existing sound recordings. Egypt's patent law does not provide protection for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products and contains other provisions that do not comply with TRIPS Agreement obligations. The government has drafted a new patent law, but had announced previously that it intends to avail itself of the full transition period for product patent protection, i.e., until January 1, 2005. Although the Government of Egypt recently adopted a decree nominally designed to comply with the TRIPS Agreement obligation to provide exclusive marketing rights for pharmaceutical and agricultural products, the adequacy of the decree remains untested. Egypt is considering a revision of its trademark law to meet TRIPS Agreement standards, but the existing trademark law is not enforced strenuously and the courts have only limited experience in adjudicating infringement cases. Although raids have increased, enforcement on the whole remains lax and therefore copyright piracy and trademark infringement remain unchecked. We will continue to consult informally with the Government of Egypt in an effort to encourage it to resolve outstanding TRIPS compliance concerns as soon as possible in the coming months.
The European Union: In 1999, the United States initiated WTO dispute settlement proceedings against the European Union regarding its regulation concerning geographical indications for foodstuffs and agricultural products. Concerns have been expressed that this regulation denies national treatment and does not adequately protect pre-existing trademarks. The EU continues to deny national treatment to U.S. intellectual property right holders in other areas as well. For example, the reciprocity requirement in the data base directive continues to be of concern. Restrictions in certain member states also deny market access opportunities for U.S. right holders. The Administration has made several efforts to address other intellectual property issues of concern to the United States in the context of the U.S. - EU TransAtlantic Economic Partnership -- those efforts have produced little result to date, though the United States remains hopeful of progress in these areas.
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