Poland's borders far too easily. For example, pirates import large amounts of unauthorized copies of optical media products, principally from Russia and Ukraine. Poland should tighten its border controls in response to its new EU obligations and continuing EU technical assistance, and we will be looking for demonstrable results this year. At the same time, we remain concerned about the potential for a sharp rise in locally-produced pirated optical discs. Optical disc production capacity in Poland is growing rapidly, overshooting local demand. Thus, we welcome changes to the Copyright Act that will impose new regulations on optical disc production and look forward to their swift and effective implementation.
Enforcement efforts are undermined by weaknesses in the judicial system that include the need to train judges and prosecutors on IPR issues, the need for better court information management systems, and the failure to impose penalties severe enough to deter IPR crime. We urge the Polish Government to expedite action on these points, which concern tens of thousands of judges, prosecutors, and judicial and prosecutorial facilities.
The United States will conduct an out-of-cycle review in the fall to ensure that Poland continues and even reinforces its efforts to strengthen IPR protection and enforcement and addresses remaining concerns. Results of the out-of-cycle review will be based on Poland's taking action in all the following areas: 1) strengthening anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting measures at the Warsaw Stadium and continuing effective raids and prosecutions against piracy and counterfeiting activities across the country; 2) strengthening the protection of test data submitted by innovative pharmaceutical companies; 3) taking substantive steps to implement a coordination mechanism between the Health Ministry and the patent agency; 4) strengthening border enforcement; 5) signing into law and implementing new copyright amendments and optical disc regulations; and 6) taking concrete, effective steps to strengthen domestic enforcement of IPR. Other significant developments related to IPR will also be considered during the review.
ROMANIA
IPR enforcement did not improve in Romania in 2003. High piracy levels continued across all sectors, optical disc piracy grew, and poor border enforcement led to a surge in imports of pirated material. The situation appeared to be further exacerbated by the lack of resources dedicated to enforcement. Prosecutions of IPR violators remain a rare event, and when cases are brought, deterrent penalties are rarely issued. In addition, Romania lacks legislation to protect confidential test data submitted to regulatory authorities for marketing approval. We look to Romania to strengthen enforcement efforts by increasing raids on illegal operations, improving and increasing prosecution of IPR violations, providing penalties that effectively deter criminal behavior, and improving border enforcement by providing government officials with ex officio authority to inspect and seize IPR infringing goods. We also look for the Romanian Government to enact a law to provide protection of confidential test data as required by TRIPS.
SAUDI ARABIA
Although Saudi Arabia is working to improve its legal protections for intellectual property as part of its efforts to join the WTO, a number of issues remain to be resolved. Saudi Arabia's 2003 copyright law fails to provide adequate protection for sound recordings or ex parte civil search orders and fails to include deterrent penalties. Although Saudi officials report increased inspections, raids, and seizures, piracy rates for optical discs, books, and pay television remain high. Piracy of printed materials and the continued use of illegal software by the government further exacerbate the problem. Saudi officials report that enforcement of trademark laws has improved through spot checks and confiscation of counterfeit
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