Turkey
Turkey will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Turkey increased enforcement actions and conducted successful public awareness and training campaigns in 2009. However, piracy and counterfeiting remain serious problems, and Turkey has not yet completed many of the legislative reforms needed to ensure effective IPR protection and enforcement throughout the country. Industry reports an increase in business software and online music piracy, and book and entertainment software piracy remain a concern. Turkey is also becoming a major exporter, as well as a transshipment point, for counterfeit and pirated products. Undue delays in the judicial process contribute to deficiencies in the overall IPR protection and enforcement regime, and the 2008 dismissal of several trademark-related cases continues to cause uncertainty about the status of protection for trademarks at issue in those cases. The United States encourages Turkey to maintain deterrent penalties for all categories of IPR infringements. The United States also encourages Turkey to clarify its protection against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of pharmaceutical test data or other data generated to obtain marketing approvals for pharmaceutical products. The United States urges Turkey to increase its efforts to enhance IPR protection and enforcement.
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Turkmenistan has yet to implement the IPR provisions of the 1993 U.S.-Turkmenistan Trade Agreement (Bilateral Trade Agreement). Turkmenistan has not joined the treaties identified in the Bilateral Trade Agreement, including the Berne Convention, Geneva Phonograms Convention, and the WIPO Internet Treaties. The Civil and Criminal Codes provide some degree of protection against IPR infringement; however, Turkmenistan still must adopt explicit and comprehensive administrative and civil procedures and criminal penalties for IPR infringement. Turkmenistan has not adopted a separate copyright law and does not provide protection for foreign sound recordings and preexisting works. IPR enforcement is inadequate in part because Customs officials do not have ex officio authority to interdict suspected infringing material at the border. The United States urges Turkmenistan to adopt the necessary legal reforms to implement its obligations under the Bilateral Trade Agreement, and to improve its IPR regime.
Ukraine
Ukraine will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Ukraine continued to make progress in 2009, including by updating its IPR laws, but enforcement efforts remain weak and piracy and counterfeiting are widespread. Ukraine has taken some positive steps to address its Internet piracy problem by creating a Cyber-Crime Unit under the Interior Ministry's Economic Crimes Division, and by enforcing against websites offering illegal content. These efforts have resulted in investigations and criminal charges. However, more needs to be done to ensure that government entities use only licensed software. Additional action is also needed to address Internet piracy, including providing law enforcement with the authority to shut down infringing
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