WATCH LIST
BELARUS
Belarus will remain on the Watch List in 2007. The United States remains concerned about Belarus' delayed implementation of its intellectual property commitments under the U.S.-Belarus Trade Agreement. Belarus made no significant progress during 2006 to strengthen its IPR laws, reduce piracy levels, or increase IPR enforcement efforts. The Belarus copyright law needs to be amended to provide adequate protection for sound recordings and pre-existing works, as well as to implement the WIPO Internet Treaties, which Belarus joined in 1998. Belarus' law neither provides ex officio authority to allow police officials to initiate criminal copyright cases or for customs officials to seize illegal products at the border, nor provides for civil ex parte search procedures necessary to protect against end-user software piracy. The United States encourages Belarus to improve its IPR regime and to enforce its IPR laws more aggressively. In addition, the United States urges Belarus to fulfill its obligations under the U.S.-Belarus Trade Agreement and will continue to monitor Belarus' progress in strengthening its IPR regime, especially in the context of Belarus' bid for accession to the WTO.
BELIZE
Belize will be lowered from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List in 2007, due to improvements in IPR enforcement in Belize, including increased cooperation between rights holders and government entities. The United States notes, however, that piracy and counterfeiting still exist in Belize and further improvements are needed to strengthen IPR enforcement. The United States remains concerned about weak IPR enforcement in Belize's Corozal Commercial Free Trade Zone, through which infringing products are transshipped from Mexico to the United States and elsewhere. The United States continues to urge Belize to improve IPR enforcement by: revising necessary laws and regulations to facilitate inspections, seizures, criminal investigations, and destruction of infringing products; increasing resources devoted to border enforcement and the number of investigations of counterfeiting and piracy; implementing strong IPR enforcement actions in the Corozal Commercial Free Trade Zone; and ensuring that prosecutors bring criminal cases against counterfeiters and pirates and that courts issue deterrent sentences for IPR infringers.
BOLIVIA
Bolivia will remain on the Watch List in 2007. Piracy and counterfeiting remain problems in Bolivia, and there were no notable improvements to Bolivia's IPR regime during the past year. As a WTO member and signatory to the WIPO Internet Treaties, Bolivia should have increased its levels of IPR protection years ago. Bolivia has inadequate copyright laws, significant copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, and weak overall IPR enforcement. The United States encourages Bolivia to strengthen its copyright laws, ratify and implement the WIPO Internet Treaties, increase its IPR enforcement efforts, provide for civil ex parte searches, prevent unwarranted delays in civil enforcement, provide adequate civil and criminal remedies in IPR infringement cases, and strengthen border measures. The United States encourages Bolivia to improve its IPR protection regime in 2007, as well as increase its IPR enforcement efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting.
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