against unfair commercial use of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products, particularly with respect to the start date of the period of protection and the inappropriate linkage of the term of data protection to the remaining term of the patent, as well as ensuring coordination between Turkey's health and patent authorities to prevent the issuance of marketing approvals for unauthorized copies of patented pharmaceutical products. The United States hopes to see Turkey's continued progress on these issues during the coming year, and will continue to monitor Turkey's progress in strengthening its IPR regime.
TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan will remain on the Watch List in 2008. The United States remains concerned about Turkmenistan's lack of progress on IPR issues and its lack of fulfillment of its IPR obligations under the United States-Turkmenistan Trade Agreement. For example, Turkmenistan has neither acceded to nor implemented the Berne Convention for the Protection of Artistic and Literary Works (Berne Convention), the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms (Geneva Phonograms Convention), or the WIPO Internet Treaties. Turkmenistan does not have a copyright law and does not provide clear criminal procedures or penalties for IPR infringement as required by the U.S.-Turkmenistan Trade Agreement. Its Customs Code does not provide ex officio authority to seize suspected infringing material at the border, and there are no known civil ex parte search procedures. The United States urges Turkmenistan to adopt the legal reforms that will bring Turkmenistan into compliance with its obligations under the bilateral United States-Turkmenistan Trade Agreement and to undertake enforcement activities that will help to strengthen its IPR regime.
UKRAINE
Ukraine will be lowered to the Watch List in 2008. Ukraine made significant progress in 2006 and 2007 by passing IP legislation and regulations as part of its bid for accession to the WTO (the WTO approved Ukraine's terms of accession in February 2008, and the deadline for parliamentary approval of the accession is July 4, 2008). Since adopting amendments to its optical disc law in 2005, Ukraine has continued to enforce against pirate optical disc manufacturing, and no evidence of pirate manufacturing has been detected in several years. The Government of Ukraine has continued to participate regularly in an Enforcement Cooperation Group with the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine and U.S. industry representatives. Despite these improvements, however, Ukraine needs to address numerous important IP issues, including full implementation of its new IP legislation; continuation of enforcement actions against optical disc factories; stronger border enforcement to address transshipment of illegal optical media produced in Russia and elsewhere; continued raids and arrests of IPR infringers, as well as follow through with vigorous prosecutions and imposition of deterrent-level sentences by courts; concrete actions to combat the growing problem of Internet piracy in Ukraine; ensuring that government ministries use only legal software; and curbing the production and distribution of pirated and counterfeit products throughout Ukraine, including in notorious markets in Ukraine. The United States will monitor Ukraine's implementation of its 2006 Law on Medicines that provides protection against unfair commercial use of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products to ensure that it fulfills its WTO obligations. The United States recognizes Ukraine's improvements in 2006 and 2007 in IPR protection, while also recognizing that significant efforts need to be made to achieve further progress on IPR
46
