in pharmaceutical patent approvals from the Thai Department of Intellectual Property, lack of coordination between the Thai health authorities and patent authorities, and the proliferation of manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of counterfeit drugs. The United States will continue to work with Thailand to address our significant concerns regarding its intellectual property laws and enforcement, and to urge the Thai Government to take swift action to implement specific elements of the IPR Action Plan. The Thai Government's prompt and full implementation of the IPR Action Plan will provide an essential foundation for the successful conclusion of the U.S.-Thailand Free Trade Agreement between our two governments.
TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan has been on the Watch List since 2000, and it will remain on the Watch List in 2005 due to its lack of progress on IPR issues during the past year. Turkmenistan has numerous remaining steps to take in order to fulfill its IPR obligations under the 1993 U.S.-Turkmenistan Trade Agreement. Specifically, Turkmenistan is a member of neither the Berne Convention nor the Geneva Phonograms Convention, and it has not yet signed the WIPO Internet Treaties. Turkmenistan has not modernized its Copyright Law and consequently does not provide any protection to foreign sound recordings. IPR enforcement is inadequate, since Turkmenistan has not adopted criminal penalties for IPR violations, and the Turkmen Customs Code does not provide ex officio authority to seize suspected infringing material at the border. There are no known civil ex parte search procedures. The United States urges Turkmenistan to adopt the legal reforms that will bring Turkmenistan into compliance with its obligations under the bilateral 1993 U.S.-Turkmenistan Agreement, and to undertake enforcement activities that will help strengthen its IPR regime.
URUGUAY
The Government of Uruguay has made some IPR improvements during 2004, and we are keeping Uruguay on the Watch List to monitor further IPR progress. We commend Uruguay for approving in 2004 the implementing regulations for its new copyright legislation, which have been largely put into effect and appear to be contributing to the strengthening of Uruguay's copyright regime. Despite this progress, however, we note that Uruguay has not yet ratified the WIPO Internet Treaties. Piracy of copyrighted works still proliferates and IPR enforcement remains ineffective. Uruguay also fails to provide adequate protect confidential test data from unfair commercial use as required by TRIPS. We urge the Uruguayan Government to ratify the WIPO Internet Treaties, address its deficiencies in IPR enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting, and provide protection for confidential test data.
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan is currently contemplating amendments to several IPR-related laws, and the United States is keeping Uzbekistan on the Watch List in 2005 with the hope that additional progress will be made on IPR protection and enforcement in the near future. While Uzbekistan recently joined the Berne Convention, the United States notes with concern Uzbekistan's reservation to Article 18, which provides protection for pre-existing works. Furthermore, Uzbekistan appears to be out of compliance with its intellectual property commitments under the 1994 U.S.-Uzbekistan Trade Agreement, particularly with respect to copyright protection and enforcement. Uzbekistan does not provide protection for sound recordings or pre-existing works, and is not a member of the Geneva Phonograms Convention or the WIPO Internet Treaties. In addition, IPR
