National Action Plan to become effective in enforcing copyrights and reducing piracy. The extension of the review was a result of some initial positive steps taken by the Brazilian Government, as well as USTR consultations with U.S. copyright stakeholders. The focus of the extended review will be on implementation and enforcement of both existing laws and recently adopted measures. The Administration looks to the Government of Brazil to achieve and demonstrate concrete progress in reducing unacceptable levels of copyright piracy, particularly through increased prosecutions and criminal convictions.
EGYPT
Egypt was elevated from the Watch List to the Priority Watch List in 2004 for shortcomings related to unauthorized marketing approvals granted for patent-infringing pharmaceutical products, deficiencies in Egypt's IPR enforcement regimes for copyrights and trademarks, and problems with its judicial system. Because little progress has been made on these issues during the past year, Egypt will be maintained on the Priority Watch List in 2005. We are concerned over reported actions by the Ministry of Health that appear to undermine Egypt's obligations under TRIPS to protect test data submitted for marketing approval against unfair commercial use for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products. In addition, we continue to be concerned about the lack of coordination between Egypt's health authorities and patent office that would prevent the unauthorized registration of patent-infringing products. The U.S. copyright industry continues to note its concern over deficiencies in implementing regulations for Egypt's copyright law. Egypt improved its copyright enforcement efforts slightly for some industries, although the U.S. copyright industry estimates its losses to be $72.5 million in Egypt for 2004. Copyright piracy remains high for book publishing, as well as for entertainment and business software. Although piracy rates decreased slightly in 2004 in the music industry due to increased police activity, there are insufficient improvements in overall copyright enforcement. Copyright enforcement is further impaired by a court system in which copyright and trademark cases continue to move slowly, collection of judgments is difficult, and transparency appears to be lacking. Efforts by Egypt to address these problems and to improve its IPR regime will continue to play an important role in the expansion of trade and investment ties with the United States.
INDIA
While India has improved its IPR regime in some respects, protection of intellectual property in many areas remains weak due in part to inadequate laws and to ineffective enforcement. Consequently, India will remain on this year's Priority Watch List. We urge India to improve its IPR regime with respect to protecting undisclosed test data against unfair commercial use for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products, as well as for copyrights, trademarks, and patents. India took a significant positive step toward strengthening patent protection when it promulgated a temporary Patent Amendment Ordinance at the end of 2004 and then passed permanent legislation in early 2005. However, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry reports shortcomings in this patent legislation that we hope India will correct. Most notably, the new law does not permit holders of patents that will issue from "mailbox" applications to enforce their rights with respect to generic copies that continue to be marketed on the date that the patent is granted. The extent to which India's new patent legislation satisfies India's TRIPS commitments is still under review and will depend, in part, on its implementation. Thus, we will monitor closely India's implementation of the patent amendment. India has yet to implement a TRIPS-compliant regulation to protect confidential test and other data submitted by innovative
