amended its copyright law in June 2003, several provisions remain deficient. As recently as February 2004, Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office promised to work with legislators to seek further improvements to the copyright law, but improvements have not been enacted. The United States appreciates the efforts and steps that Taiwan has taken to strengthen its IP situation, and will continue to work with Taiwan officials on legislation and to achieve measurably improved enforcement results; including, if necessary, through higher-level engagement between USTR and Taiwan authorities. USTR has decided to conduct an out-of-cycle review in the fall to evaluate Taiwan's progress in achieving these objectives.
TURKEY
Long-standing concerns over the lack protection for confidential test data were noted in the 2003 Special 301 Report. Unfortunately, Turkey has not implemented data exclusivity. The Turkish Government has indicated that it may soon announce implementation of this protection, however, actual implementation may be delayed – possibly until 2007. Under TRIPS, Turkey was obligated to have this protection in place as of 2000. Due to this continued and now possibly extended delay in implementation of data exclusivity, lack of interim protection for pharmaceuticals in the research and development "pipeline," and with other serious concerns outlined below, Turkey has been elevated to the Priority Watch List. With regard to piracy, book piracy is the chief problem in Turkey, while piracy of optical media, mainly in the form of "burned" CD-Rs, has proliferated. IPR enforcement is also impeded by the judicial system. Although Turkey's 2001 copyright law improved the legal regime by providing deterrent penalties for copyright infringement, the courts fail to impose deterrent penalties against pirates. Amendments to the law in early 2004 banned street sales and allow for ex officio enforcement actions, which should provide additional tools to the government, but also lowered criminal penalties. In addition, counterfeiting, especially in apparel and designer brands, continues with little deterrence by the court system. The United States urges the Government of Turkey to enact data exclusivity for pharmaceuticals immediately, and to take more aggressive domestic and border enforcement actions such as criminal convictions and deterrent penalties to decrease counterfeiting and piracy.
WATCH LIST
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan has yet to fully implement the 1995 U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade Agreement and address deficiencies in its IPR laws. For example, copyright law in Azerbaijan does not explicitly provide for the protection of pre-existing works or sounds recordings. The Criminal Code and Customs Code do not appear to provide for ex officio authority to commence criminal copyright cases and suspend the release of suspected infringing material at the border, and there is no explicit provision for civil ex parte search procedures. As a result of these inadequacies, IPR enforcement in Azerbaijan remains weak and ineffective. Furthermore, while Azerbaijani law does provide criminal penalties for IPR violations, U.S. copyright industries report that there have been no convictions for copyright infringement and that damage awards are difficult to obtain. We look to Azerbaijan to meet its obligations under the 1995 U.S.-Azerbaijan Trade Agreement and to improve its enforcement efforts by providing for ex officio raids and seizures as well as civil ex parte searches.
BELARUS
Belarus must take several steps to fulfill its intellectual property commitments under the 1993 U.S.-Belarus Trade Agreement and to address other deficiencies in its IPR regime. With respect to its
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