meaningful civil infringement suits. The United States will continue to work closely with Spain to address these IPR enforcement issues during the next year.
TAIWAN
An Out-of-Cycle Review will be initiated in the immediate future and completed this summer to monitor progress on selected outstanding issues to consider whether Taiwan should be removed from the Watch List. Progress by Taiwan on improving its IPR regime this past year includes the June passage by the Legislative Yuan (LY) of a new law aimed at ending illegal file-sharing over peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, which enabled officials to shut down some of the worst violators; continued efforts to establish an IP section at the Special Prosecutor's Office; and creation and issuance in October 2007 of the Action Plan for Protecting IP Rights on School Campuses. The United States urges Taiwan to make the specialized IPR Court operational as soon as possible. The United States urges Taiwan to continue to implement the 2007 Campus Action Plan, continue its efforts to combat counterfeiting and Internet piracy, and to work closely with the LY to pass pending IPR legislation regarding liability of Internet service providers for copyright infringements. The United States asks that Taiwan continue to take effective action against piracy on the Internet, especially on TANet, the Internet service provider administered by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, and against the unauthorized use of copyrighted material on or near universities.
TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan will remain on the Watch List in 2008. Tajikistan made progress passing IPR legislation this past year. The United States remains concerned, however, that Tajikistan has not yet fulfilled its IPR obligations under the U.S.-Tajikistan Bilateral Agreement, and encourages Tajikistan to take the necessary steps to fully implement the TRIPS Agreement as part of its ongoing efforts to join the WTO. In addition, Tajikistan continues to have a weak enforcement regime that lacks criminal penalties for IPR violations, ex officio authority to commence criminal cases, and civil ex parte search procedures necessary for effective enforcement against end-user pirates, among other important enforcement measures. The Tajik Customs Code also fails to provide customs officials with ex officio authority to suspend the release of suspected infringing materials at the border. Legal reforms are also needed, for example, in Tajikistan's copyright law, which does not provide protection for sound recordings or pre-existing works. The United States also encourages Tajikistan to accede to and implement the WIPO Internet Treaties. The United States will continue to work with Tajikistan through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and the ongoing WTO accession negotiations to address deficiencies in its IPR laws and strengthen IPR protection and enforcement.
TURKEY
Turkey will be lowered to the Watch List in 2008, due to notable progress on copyright enforcement, including an increased number of raids against copyright pirates and seizures of pirated goods, impositions of deterrent-level penalties by the courts, improved pharmaceutical protection, and increased cooperation between law enforcement authorities and the private sector. U.S. copyright industries note that Turkey's enforcement actions are "beginning to reap benefits in the market in terms of decreased piracy." The United States encourages Turkey to build upon this positive momentum, including addressing end-user software piracy more vigorously. The United States also encourages Turkey to consider strengthening its protection
45
