Paraguay, the Philippines, and United Arab Emirates, among others. The United States urges these countries to improve their IPR border enforcement systems.
Controlling Optical Media Production
In recent years, some countries, such as Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Ukraine, have made progress toward implementing controls on optical media production. Other countries still need to adopt and implement legislation or improve existing measures to combat pirate optical disc production, including Bangladesh, India, Russia, and Thailand, which have not made sufficient progress in this area. The United States continues to urge its trading partners who face pirate optical media production within their borders to pass effective legislation and aggressively enforce existing laws and regulations.
Internet Piracy and the WIPO Internet Treaties
The increased availability of broadband Internet connections around the world has made the Internet an extremely efficient vehicle for disseminating pirated products. The United States is continuing to work with other governments, in consultation with U.S. copyright industries and other affected sectors, to develop strategies to address this global problem. An important first step was achieved in 1996 when WIPO concluded two copyright treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) (collectively, the "WIPO Internet Treaties"). Following their entry into force in 2002, these treaties have raised minimum standards of intellectual property protection around the world, particularly with regard to Internet-based delivery of copyrighted works. The WIPO Internet Treaties have clarified exclusive rights and prohibit the circumvention of certain technological measures that protect copyrighted works in online environments.
A growing number of countries are implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties to create a legal environment conducive to investment and growth in Internet-related businesses and technologies. As of April 2007, there are 63 members of the WCT and 61 members of the WPPT. China deposited its instruments of accession to the treaties on March 9, 2007. Membership will rise significantly when the various EU member States join. Other countries have implemented key provisions of the treaties in their national laws without formally ratifying them. As a new part of the international IPR legal regime, the WIPO Internet Treaties represent a majority world community view that the vital framework of protection under existing agreements, including the TRIPS Agreement, should be supplemented to eliminate any remaining gaps in copyright protection on the Internet that could impede the development of electronic commerce. The United States urges other governments to ratify and implement the WIPO Internet Treaties.
The United States is committed to a policy of promoting higher standards of intellectual property protection by incorporating standards from the WIPO Internet Treaties as substantive obligations in our bilateral and regional trade agreements, and by seeking accession to those treaties as a substantive obligation under these agreements. Proposals by the United States within ongoing
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