In October 2004, Israel's Ministry of Justice made a formal commitment to the USG to uphold the principals of national treatment for phonographic rights holders. This commitment protects the vast majority of "U.S." sound recordings, however the draft copyright legislation has not been formally amended to reflect the commitment.
Korea agreed to participate in the U.S. Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative in October 2004.
The European Community became party to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol) on October 1, 2004.
In October 2004, Sri Lankan police conducted their first high-profile IPR raid, of a counterfeit CD/DVC manufacturing plant.
In October 2004, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 175/2004/ND-CP on violations and administrative sanctions in the trade domain. Articles 18 and 19 of this decree detail sanctions for trading in fake goods, stamps, labels and packages and establish procedures for assessing fines for these acts. These articles also provide for additional measures such as seizure of equipment used for infringement; destruction of counterfeit goods; and, confiscation of illegal profit.
In October 2004, the Government of Indonesia passed optical disc regulations. The regulations require optical disc production facilities to use only moulds with engraved government approved SID codes, maintain production and licensing records, and submit to unannounced inspections. The optical disc regulations also provide enforcement through possible administrative sanctions and criminal penalties for copyright violators of up to five years in prison.
In October 2004, a Dominican Republic court decision against Channel 5/Telemicro for broadcast piracy obligated the company to pay a total of Rd Pesos 415,000 (approximately US $14,000) to Twentieth Century Fox, Tri-star Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Warner Brothers. The court sentenced Telemicro's manager to three months in prison, but these sentences have not been imposed, pending appeal.
Vietnam became party to the Berne Convention on Copyright Protection for Literary and Artistic Works on October 26 2004.
November
In November 2004, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) began a new enforcement campaign, Operation Mountain Hawk. It provides guidance for the national police to work with the local police on accepting and investigating more cases, and reporting their results. The MPS held a kick-off seminar with the Quality Brands Protection Committee in December 2004 to show how MPS and local leaders from the Economic Crimes Enforcement Division of the Public Security Bureau are coordinating on IPR enforcement.
In November 2004, the U.S. Department of Commerce and China's Ministry of Commerce established a case review mechanism whereby U.S. companies reporting Chinese IPR violations
