other foreign sound recordings; and providing retroactive protection for works or sound recordings under its copyright law. In addition, we are concerned about weak enforcement of intellectual property rights in Armenia. Although new criminal penalties for intellectual property violations have been adopted, there have been no convictions under the new law and police authority to commence criminal copyright cases is unclear. Further, Armenia's Customs Code does not provide the proper authority to seize material at the border as required by the TRIPS Agreement. If not addressed, ineffective border enforcement could cause Armenia to become a target for illegal optical media producers, a problem that other countries of the region have faced.
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan has several remaining steps to take to fulfill its intellectual property commitments under the 1995 U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade Agreement and to make its intellectual property regime consistent with the TRIPS Agreement. Specifically, Azerbaijan has not yet become a member of the Geneva Phonograms Convention, is not providing any protection or rights to U.S. and other foreign sound recordings; and does not clearly provide retroactive protection for works or sound recordings under its copyright law. Enforcement also remains weak despite adoption of new criminal penalties (which address copyright and patent right violations but exclude neighboring rights violations). In addition, the Customs Code does not provide the proper authority to seize material at the border as required by the TRIPS Agreement. If not addressed, ineffective border enforcement could cause Azerbaijan to become a target for illegal optical media producers, a problem that other countries of the region have faced.
Belarus: Belarus has several remaining steps to take to fulfill its intellectual property commitments under the 1993 U.S.-Belarus Trade Agreement and to make its intellectual property regime consistent with the TRIPS Agreement. Specifically, Belarus is not yet a member of the Geneva Phonograms Convention, does not provide any protection or rights to U.S. and other foreign sound recordings, and does not clearly provide retroactive protection for works or sound recordings under its copyright law. In addition, there is weak enforcement of intellectual property rights in Belarus and piracy levels are extremely high. Belarus has amended its Criminal Code to adopt deterrent penalties for intellectual property violations, but the Criminal Code still does not contain the proper authority for police officials to initiate copyright criminal cases. Belarus currently has large-scale illegal music cassette production facilities. While there is not yet any known illegal optical media production in Belarus, the organized criminal element involved in illegal musical cassette production in Belarus is active in illegal optical media production in neighboring countries, and, absent effective border enforcement and optical media controls, Belarus is a prime target for the illegal distribution and production of optical media.
Bolivia: Bolivia has made some progress this past year with the long-awaited appointment of a director to the National Intellectual Property Service (SENAPI), created by President Banzer in 1997. SENAPI officials appear to be making a good faith effort to train personnel and acquire the resources needed to strengthen the institution. However, SENAPI continues to be seriously underfunded, lacks trained technical personnel, and has no mechanism to enforce intellectual property protections. Overall, enforcement of intellectual property protection in Bolivia remains weak. Software piracy continues to flourish unabated and counterfeit products are produced in
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