Page:Special 301 Report 2009.pdf/41

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  • Czech Customs officials adopted an organized enforcement approach in 2008, including targeting the markets for repeated raids, leaving its officers on site for several weeks, and informing the market vendors about what items can be sold legally and what constitutes IPR piracy. Pirated goods are retrieved for customers often from locked containers, warehouses, cars, or homes outside of the market, in order to escape detection from law enforcement authorities. The United States has urged the Czech Government to take sustained IPR enforcement actions, revoke business licenses from market operators who sell IPR infringing goods, and follow up with prosecutions of IPR violators.
  • Polish Markets (Silesia, Kracow, and Wroclaw, Poland, and Poland/Germany border). Markets at Poland's border with Germany and bazaars at Silesia, Kracow, and Wroclaw sell pirated and counterfeit goods. Although Poland made some progress when border authorities conducted raids this past year at the border markets, further enforcement actions are needed to curb the piracy and counterfeiting in these areas.
  • La Salada (Buenos Aires, Argentina). This is the largest of more than 40 well-established markets in Buenos Aires that have been cited as being heavily involved in the sale of counterfeit goods. An estimated 6,000 vendors sell to 20,000 customers daily. The market is reputed to be a haven for organized criminal gangs that operate from within it, resulting in little to no IPR enforcement. Raids by local police on flea markets where counterfeit merchandise is openly sold have not been frequent or widespread enough to lessen the availability of pirated goods. The most notable enforcement actions of 2008 were three raids conducted in the notorious street fair La Salada. These enforcement actions follow two 2007 raids which are thought to be the first such actions in La Salada. Buenos Aires provincial tax authorities indicated that a number of high-profile tax and IPR enforcement actions in the La Salada market are being planned for the 2009 calendar year.
  • Neighborhood of Quiapo (Manila, Philippines). Street stalls in this neighborhood are notorious for selling counterfeit and pirated merchandise. Other notorious markets in Manila include Binondo, Greenhills, Makati Cinema Square, and Metrowalk. An Executive Order of November 17, 2006 establishes landlord liability for tenants who sell pirated merchandise. Reports indicate, however, that no landlords have yet been prosecuted for IPR violations.
  • Harco Glodok (Jakarta, Indonesia). This is reported to be one of the largest markets in Indonesia for counterfeit and pirated goods, particularly well-known for pirated optical discs. Enforcement officials are reportedly reluctant to conduct regular enforcement actions because of the presence of organized criminal gangs. Indonesian law enforcement authorities have successfully utilized some U.S. assistance. However, overall lack of coordination at the national level continues to undermine Indonesia's efforts to substantially and measurably improve its IPR regime.
  • Panthip Plaza, Mah Boon Krong (MBK) Center, Klong Thom, Patpong, and Sukhumvit Road (Bangkok, Thailand). These locations are notorious for openly selling pirated and counterfeit goods, and are all designated as "red zones" by Thai

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