FTA negotiations will continue to include up-to-date copyright and enforcement obligations that reflect contemporary technological challenges.
Piracy using new technologies is an emerging problem internationally. For example, the U.S. copyright industries report growing problems with piracy not only on the Internet, but also using cellular telephones, palm devices, flash drives, and other mobile technologies. In some countries these devices are being pre-loaded with illegal content before they are sold. In addition to piracy of music and films using these new technologies, piracy of ring tones, games, and scanned books also occurs. Countries with significant problems of piracy using new technologies include India, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia, among others. The United States will work with these governments to combat this increasing problem.
During the past year, a number of countries, mostly in Western Europe, have devoted increasing attention to the relationship between intellectual property rights, digital rights management technologies, and interoperability of consumer products and other devices. This emerging set of issues represents potential new challenges in the area of effective protection of IPR. In France, for example, copyright legislation enacted in August 2006 contains provisions enabling a government entity to mandate the disclosure of IP-protected digital rights management information in the interest of promoting interoperability. The United States has expressed concern that this legislation may, depending on its implementation, impinge upon IPR of both the creators of the digital rights management technologies and of creative works protected by those technologies. Similar approaches reportedly are being considered in other European countries, including Belgium, Sweden, Norway, and Germany. In some cases, consumer protection laws and regulatory authorities have been engaged to pursue interoperability at the potential expense of IP right holders. This complex intersection of issues will continue to receive U.S. policy attention in the coming year.
Government Use of Software
Under an Executive Order issued in October 1998, United States Government agencies maintain appropriate and effective procedures to ensure the use of authorized and legitimate use of business software. Pursuant to the same directive, USTR has undertaken an initiative to work with other governments, particularly in countries that are modernizing their software management systems or where concerns have been raised, to stop governmental use of unauthorized or illegal software.
Considerable progress has been made under this initiative. In 2006, APEC economies agreed that central government agencies should use only legal software and other copyrighted materials and should implement effective policies intended to prevent copyright infringement on their computer systems and via the Internet. Numerous countries and territories have mandated that only authorized, legitimate software may be used by government ministries. Some countries that have enacted such decrees or are in the process of implementing them include Bolivia, Chile,
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