SECTION II. COUNTRY REPORTS
Determination in Section 301 Investigation of Ukraine
Ukraine was designated a Priority Foreign Country in the 2013 Special Report due to the particular IPR acts, policies, and practices identified in the 2013 Special 301 Report. (See 2013 Special 301 Report; Identification of Ukraine as a Priority Foreign Country and Initiation of Section 301 Investigation, 78 FR 33886 (June 5, 2013)). Those acts, policies, and practices involved: (1) the administration of Ukraine's system for collecting societies, which are responsible for collecting and distributing copyright royalties to U.S. and other rights holders; (2) use of infringing software by Ukrainian government agencies; and (3) online infringement of copyright and related rights. On May 30, 2013, the United States Trade Representative initiated a Section 301 investigation of the acts, policies, and practices identified in the Special 301 Report.
Based on the information obtained during the investigation, on February 28, 2014, the U.S. Trade Representative determined that these acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable and burden or restrict United States commerce, but, due to the current political situation in Ukraine, no action would be taken at that time. (See Notice of Determination in Section 301 Investigation of Ukraine, 79 FR 14326 (March 13, 2014)).
USTR remains committed to addressing the problems that served as the basis for the designation of Ukraine as a PFC, and appreciates Ukraine's recent outreach and ongoing engagement in exploring how to ameliorate these problems and improve its overall IP regime. The United States looks forward to working with Ukraine on these three issues.
PRIORITY WATCH LIST
China
China remains on the Priority Watch List and subject to Section 306 monitoring.
China's leadership has acknowledged the critical role that intellectual property plays in spurring innovation and the need to improve China's protection and enforcement of IP rights, including at the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Consistent with China's policy objectives, its judicial, legislative, administrative, and enforcement authorities are in the midst of wide-ranging legal reform efforts relating to the protection and enforcement of IPR in China. Certain rights holders report positive experiences, including in some cases a greater ability to obtain redress against infringers in civil court actions. The United States also notes increased cooperation between U.S. and Chinese law enforcement agencies in an effort to stem cross-border flows of infringing products. The United States looks forward to strengthened cooperation, building on the increasing and positive cooperation between U.S. customs and investigative agencies and their Chinese counterparts, including the General Administration of Customs and Ministry of Public Security.
At the same time, a wide range of U.S. stakeholders in China continues to report serious obstacles to effective protection of IPR in all forms, including patents, copyrights, trademarks,
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