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settlement with regard to this matter in the near future.
Israel has an inadequate copyright law which, combined with poor enforcement, has led to widespread cable and software piracy. There is also evidence of a rapidly growing rate of audio CD piracy for export. The United States is increasingly concerned by this situation and seeks revision of the copyright law and improved enforcement, and passage of a law governing licensing of satellite signals by cable operators. The United States also remains concerned about continuing Israeli examination of a troubling modification to Israel's patent law.
Italy: Extensive copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting exist in Italy. The Italian Government stepped-up enforcement efforts over the past year, including several large well-publicized raids, particularly against copyright piracy. Nevertheless, losses due to piracy remain high. A major impediment to reducing video piracy has been the inadequacy of existing criminal penalties. Italian penalties against piracy and counterfeiting are among the lowest in Europe, providing an inadequate deterrent which may be in violation of the TRIPs Agreement. The U.S. Government and copyright industry continue to urge the Government of Italy to include a provision in the pending legislation to provide significantly higher criminal penalties. An out-of-cycle review will be conducted in the fall to assess the results of Italy's continued efforts against piracy and counterfeiting.
Japan: has taken a number of steps to address U.S. intellectual property concerns. These include corrective legislation to provide TRIPS-consistent protection for pre-existing sound recordings and improvements to Japan's trademark law. Improvements in Japan's patent system have also benefitted certain U.S. patent applicants. Nevertheless, IPR problems continue in Japan, particularly for other U.S. companies which continue to report difficulties in obtaining and enforcing patents in Japan despite the conclusion of two patent-related agreements in 1994. Concerns also remain about the inadequate protection of trade secrets as well as end-user software piracy.
Jordan's 1992 copyright law is cumbersome and falls far short of international standards in most respects. Any protection offered by the law is undermined by a lack of effective enforcement mechanisms and, as a result, piracy is rampant. Jordan intends to revise its copyright law as part of its economic liberalization program and accession to the WTO but insufficient progress has been made. The inadequacies of the patent law, which dates from 1953, have led to a growing problem of patent infringement for pharmaceuticals which are manufactured for both domestic and export markets. Trademark protection is unavailable absent extreme vigilance by U.S. rights holders and revisions in the law are necessary to expand the definition of "trademark" to include services and goods.
Korea: has taken a number of steps to enhance the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and to reduce piracy. These include implementation of various parts of the TRIPS agreement, accession to the Berne Convention, the reduction of end-user software piracy, and increased budget allocations for enforcement. Moreover, Korea has recently indicated that it will implement a number of additional steps to further enhance IPR protection, including finalizing establishment of a patent court by March 1998, revision of its Trademark and Industrial Design laws by March 1998, and adoption of the International Classification System for trademarks by July 1998.
