and at Paraguay's borders, including focusing on large-scale trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods, reportedly by regional organized crime groups, in the Tri-Border Area and strengthening law enforcement cooperation with Brazil and Argentina. Paraguay also must find some way to address challenges in the prosecution and adjudication of IPR cases, as IPR violators are seldom charged and rarely receive deterrent sentences. In addition, many of the factors that resulted in Paraguay's designation as a Priority Foreign Country in 1998 remain. While DINAPI has begun issuing patents, ending a nearly nine year drought, Paraguay still does not adequately protect against the unfair commercial use, or the unauthorized disclosure, of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products. Paraguay also has yet to issue a government software legalization decree, although the United States understands that progress is underway to address the underlying concerns. While Paraguay's efforts over the past two years certainly merit acknowledgement, significant challenges remain, including many that could be addressed through a renewed MOU. The United States looks forward to working constructively with Paraguay to address enforcement and other IPR challenges, and to successfully conclude the MOU.
Peru
Peru remains on the Watch List in 2015. While Peru made some progress in 2014 to promote IPR and raise public awareness, including on counterfeit medicines, the United States remains concerned about the widespread availability of counterfeit and pirated products in Peru. The United States continues to urge Peru to devote additional resources for IPR enforcement, improve coordination among enforcement agencies, enhance its border controls, and build the technical IPR-related capacity of its law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges. The United States also encourages Peru to coordinate enforcement and pursue prosecutions under the law that criminalizes the sale of counterfeit medicines. In addition, the United States urges Peru to ensure that it implements its obligations under the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) regarding the prevention of government use of unlicensed software, and its obligations under PTPA and other agreements to combat piracy over the Internet. Peru also needs to clarify its protections for biotechnologically-derived pharmaceutical products. The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Peru to address these and other issues, including through the TPP negotiations.
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