Some aspects of Taiwan's copyright and patent laws appear out of compliance with the TRIPS Agreement, which Taiwan has agreed to implement fully as of the date of its accession to the WTO. Although Taiwan's current patent law provides a 20-year term of protection from the date of application, this TRIPS-consistent term is only provided to patents that were applied for after January 23, 1994. Patents with applications prior to this date receive only a 15-year term of protection from the date of publication of the application, with a maximum of 18 years from the date of actual application. The copyright law also needs strengthening in a number of areas including protection for temporary copies. Trademark owners also experience significant levels of counterfeiting in Taiwan, particularly of auto spare parts.
Enforcement of intellectual property rights improved somewhat over the past year, with increased raids against and prosecutions of IPR infringers, as well as efforts to ensure the use of only licensed software in government offices. However, without adequate legislation and sustained enforcement efforts, Taiwan remains a haven for pirates. U.S. trade officials have visited Taiwan twice in recent months to discuss with Taiwan authorities about how Taiwan can strengthen its IPR protection, and we understand that legislation that is intended to address our concerns regarding patent term was introduced in April. Specifically, we look to Taiwan to enact an effective optical media licensing law and complete the process of amending its copyright law in the coming months, and to enact a TRIPS-consistent patent law that would be effective upon accession to the WTO.
Uruguay
We have been pressing Uruguay to reform its outdated patent and copyright legislation since 1997, and despite repeated engagement and consultations on the necessary amendments, serious deficiencies remain in its intellectual property rights regime. Uruguay's draft copyright legislation has become entangled in legislative wrangling and currently contains numerous shortcomings even in its draft form, most notably the separation from the comprehensive copyright bill of software protection into a stand-alone bill. Enforcement of both criminal and civil copyright cases is weak and sporadic. While new patent legislation was recently passed, it also contains major flaws, including the lack of provisions for exclusive marketing rights for pharmaceutical products, apparent non-TRIPS compliant exclusive licensing provisions, overly-broad compulsory license provisions, and the omission of data protection requirements. The United States urges Uruguay to fix these and other flaws in its intellectual property legislation as soon as possible.
WATCH LIST
Armenia
Armenia has several remaining steps to take in order to fulfill its intellectual property commitments under the 1992 U.S.-Armenia Trade Agreement and to become TRIPS consistent in preparation for accession to the WTO. Armenia is not yet a party to the Geneva Phonograms Convention as required by the bilateral trade agreement; nor does it provide any protection for U.S. and other foreign sound recordings, or clear protection for pre-existing works or sound recordings under its copyright law. In addition, enforcement of intellectual property laws in Armenia is weak, and while new criminal penalties for intellectual property rights violations
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