Chile: While generally strong, Chile's intellectual property laws are not yet consistent with its obligations under the WTO TRIPS Agreement which came into force on January 1, 2000. For example, the term of patent protection falls short of the 20-year standard mandated by TRIPS, the trademark law is deficient in a number of areas and computer software is not clearly protected as a "literary work." The Government of Chile introduced legislation in 1999 intended to make Chile's intellectual property regime TRIPS-compliant. This legislation has yet to be enacted and reportedly is not, in fact, TRIPS-consistent. Concerns have been expressed that the draft law does not provide adequate protection for confidential test data, among other issues. Inadequate enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting remains a serious concern, as does the large backlog of pending patent applications. We look to the Government of Chile to eliminate the backlog of patent applications and to bring its legal regime into compliance with TRIPS without further delay.
Colombia: Colombian officials worked very cooperatively during the past year with U.S. copyright industries in on-the-ground enforcement actions, and the Government of Colombia made significant progress in establishing a legitimate pay-per-view market. However, enforcement of copyright laws is still insufficient and piracy levels remain high. Enforcement in the trademark area also remains weak. On the patent side, Colombia and its Andean partners have not yet completed the revisions to Andean Decision 344 to bring it into conformity with the TRIPS Agreement. We will continue to consult informally with Andean Community governments in an effort to encourage them to resolve the outstanding TRIPS compliance concerns as soon as possible in the coming months.
Costa Rica: Costa Rica has made significant efforts to improve its legal framework for the protection of intellectual property. The Government of Costa Rica passed seven laws at the end of 1999 in an effort to bring its regime into compliance with its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement, including a provision to extend patent protection terms to TRIPS levels. However, a number of problems remain on the enforcement side, particularly with respect to criminal prosecutions, as evidenced by continued high levels of piracy. The U.S. looks to the Government of Costa Rica to build on its recent progress by taking adequate and effective enforcement actions.
Czech Republic: The Czech Republic has enacted patent, trademark, customs, and criminal and civil code amendments to bring its intellectual property rights regime in line with TRIPS Agreement obligations. Most recently, the Czech Republic passed a new copyright law. We applaud the government's efforts to accelerate enactment of this legislation in recent months. This new law is expected to address remaining significant gaps in the Czech Republic's regime, including extending copyright protection to pre-1974 sound recordings. However, the Czech Republic still does not explicitly provide for ex parte search and seizure authority in civil proceedings, and alternative measures in the Civil Procedure Code do not appear to be adequate. In addition, despite relatively good cooperation with police and customs officials, enforcement problems with prosecutors and courts remain pervasive throughout all sectors of the copyright
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