the Madrid Protocol, and the Nice Classification Agreement. The Egyptian Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), which is responsible for the enforcement of IPR in relation to software and databases, reports improved enforcement efforts, including an increase in prosecutions and raids. Authorities also improved enforcement against counterfeit pharmaceuticals. However, piracy rates for books, music, and motion pictures remain high, and the United States encourages the Ministry of Culture and other Egyptian ministries to increase their enforcement efforts. The economic courts established in 2008 have been effective in prosecuting IPR infringement, but judges and prosecutors need additional training. Enforcement agencies, including Customs, are also in need of capacity building. The United States continues to urge the Ministry of Health to clarify its commitment to protect against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approvals for pharmaceutical products, and to provide an effective system to address patent issues expeditiously in connection with applications to market pharmaceutical products. The United States will continue to engage on these issues through the U.S.-Egypt Strategic Economic Partnership.
Finland
Finland will remain on the Watch List in 2010. The United States continues to be concerned about the lack of product patent protection for certain pharmaceutical products. U.S. industry continues to express concern that the regulatory framework in Finland regarding process patents filed before 1995, and pending in 1996, denies adequate protection to many of the top-selling U.S. pharmaceutical products currently on the Finnish market. The United States will continue to work with and encourage Finland to resolve this matter.
Greece
Greece will remain on the 2010 Watch List. Greece improved its IPR legal framework in 2009 by ratifying the WIPO Internet Treaties together with other EU Member States. There were also some improvements in enforcement efforts. These included steps to facilitate communication between the police, the Hellenic Copyright Organization, and other IPR-related agencies, and the creation of a department at the Ministry of Citizen's Protections focusing on economic and cyber crimes, including IPR. Greece also took action against Internet piracy by shutting down infringing sites, with one such action resulting in felony charges, and by preparing a Draft Code of Conduct establishing cooperation between Internet service providers and rights holders. Despite these efforts, overall enforcement remained weak and inconsistent. Additionally, Greece did not follow through on initiatives begun in 2008 and 2009. For example, the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on IPR, which was formed in 2008, was not very active in 2009, and the National Action Plan for IPR was not significantly implemented in the last year. The United States encourages Greece to implement its National Action Plan on IPR, and to improve IPR protection and enforcement.
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