WATCH LIST
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan remains on the Watch List in 2005 because it has not addressed deficiencies in its IPR laws or fulfilled its IPR commitments under the 1995 U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade Agreement. For example, Azerbaijan's copyright law does not explicitly provide protection for pre-existing works or sound recordings. Neither the Criminal Code nor the Customs Code appear to provide for ex officio authority to commence criminal copyright cases and suspend the release of suspected infringing material at the border, and the Civil Code contains no explicit provision for civil ex parte search procedures. Further, while Azerbaijani law does provide criminal penalties for IPR violations, the U.S. copyright industry reports that there have been no criminal penalties or administrative sanctions imposed for copyright infringement in Azerbaijan this year. We encourage Azerbaijan to meet its obligations under the 1995 U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade Agreement, to accede to and fully implement the WIPO Internet Treaties, and to improve its enforcement efforts by providing for ex officio raids and seizures as well as civil ex parte searches. The United States will continue to monitor Azerbaijan's progress on IPR issues and notes that Azerbaijan will be expected to fully implement the TRIPS Agreement upon accession to the WTO.
BAHAMAS
The Bahamas is being lowered from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List in 2005. During the past year, the Bahamas' legislature passed an amendment to its Copyright Act, which narrows the scope of the compulsory licensing regime for the reception and transmission of copyright works broadcast free over-the-air. The copyright amendment reflects a positive step towards compliance with commitments under an agreement reached between the Bahamas and the United States in 2000. The United States notes its serious concern, however, that this copyright amendment has not yet been enacted or implemented. In addition, the amendment and proposed implementing regulations contain certain deficiencies that we urge the Bahamas to address in the near term. Until this copyright amendment is properly put into effect, problems continue to persist in the area of copyright protection for U.S. cable programs and motion pictures. In particular, in the absence of implementation of the copyright amendments, the compulsory licensing plan contains provisions that allow Bahamian cable operators to retransmit any copyrighted television programming, including for-pay programming, whether or not transmitted from the Bahamas or outside of the Bahamas, and whether or not encrypted. Moreover, until existing regulations are changed, the remuneration system for copyright works under the compulsory licensing program remains inadequate and arbitrarily includes even lower, special rates for hotels and other commercial enterprises. The United States urges the Bahamas to enact promptly these necessary amendments to the copyright law and regulations. In addition, the United States continues to encourage all interested parties, including U.S. cable operators and copyrights holders, to seek commercial solutions that would facilitate the legal transmission of cable programming by cable operators in the Bahamas.
BELARUS
Belarus remains on the Watch List in 2005 because it appears to have not fulfilled its intellectual property commitments under the 1993 U.S.-Belarus Trade Agreement and it continues to have deficiencies in its IPR regime. With respect to its copyright law, Belarus does not provide
