which will benefit from stronger IPR protection in Israel. Additionally, Israel confirmed that it has taken steps to expedite approvals of new pharmaceutical drugs by the Ministry of Health, which means that Israeli citizens will get access to both innovative and generic medicines sooner. A copy of the understanding is available at www.ustr.gov.
In recognition of Israel's commitment to move forward on legislation to amend its IPR laws, and once the appropriate legislation is submitted to the Knesset, Israel will be moved from the Special 301 Priority Watch List to the Watch List. When that legislation is fully implemented (through passage by the Knesset of the agreed-upon amendments to Israeli law), Israel will be moved off the Special 301 list altogether.
Separately from the understanding discussed above, and in connection with its bid to join the OECD, Israel has signaled a new willingness to make progress on other IPR issues of concern. In particular, Israel announced plans to issue a draft copyright-related "exposure bill" (an early step in the legislative process) in one year. Israel has stated that the purpose of this step will be to solicit public comments on specific proposals pertaining to enacting core requirements of the WIPO Internet Treaties. The United States welcomes this step, and encourages Israel to proceed with full accession to, and implementation of, the WIPO Internet Treaties.
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