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Korea may provide patent term extensions for pharmaceuticals. Korea also will gradually ease foreign content restrictions applicable to cable programming and may improve market access for intellectual property-content goods, including TV programs. The United States applauds these steps and looks to further cooperation and dialogue to address more complex issues, including full retroactive protection for copyright works, treatment of foreign pharmaceuticals, enhanced protection of well-known trademarks and technology-based telecommunications patents.
Kuwait: Enforcement efforts by the Government of Kuwait to combat piracy of software and audiovisual products have improved following an April 1995 decree issued by the Ministry of Information. However, unauthorized duplication of software continues to be a major problem. Kuwait has been slow to move ahead on adopting copyright legislation. Pharmaceutieal patents are not protected under the existing 1962 law, which fails to meet international standards in numerous other regards as well.
Luxembourg: has not amended its copyright law to comply with TRIPS obligations, which have been in effect since January 1996. Examples of non-compliance include absence of an anti-bootlegging provision, an inadequate term of protection for sound recordings, the absence of retroactive protection for sound recordings and an absence of a rental right for sound recordings, all of which have led to substantial piracy in Luxembourg. The U.S. Government will initiate WTO dispute settlement procedures if Luxembourg has not complied with its TRIPS obligations by September 1997.
Oman: Efforts to modernize Oman's IPR regime are progressing slowly. Modifications to its copyright and trademark regime are necessary to conform to international standards. Legal protection for pharmaceutical product patents is also absent. The United States will monitor levels of piracy in Oman and efforts to improve intellectual property protection, including the status of draft legislation to update copyright and patent regimes. Should Oman make sufficient progress toward resolving these issues, the United States will consider conducting an out-of-cycle review this year to evaluate Oman's watch list status.
Pakistan: Pakistan's patent law provides process but not product protection for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals. Proving infringement of a process patent is difficult and such patents are easily circumvented. After the U.S. initiated WTO dispute settlement against Pakistan, the Government of Pakistan changed its patent law and regulations to comply with TRIPS obligations to implement Articles 70.8 and 70.9 of TRIPs Agreement, the so-called "mailbox" and "exclusive marketing rights provisions". Problem areas include piracy of computer software, videos, books, and textile designs. Intellectual property piracy in Pakistan remains widespread. Pakistani authorities have taken steps to strengthen enforcement. However, fines applied to violators have been too small to provide a credible deterrent.
Panama is a major transshipment and assembly point for pirated and counterfeited products. However, the Government of Panama has recently passed and begun to enforce its customs and IPR laws. The United States welcomes the recent enforcement actions, but more is needed to address this serious problem in Panama and especially in the Colon Free Zone. The United States urges Panama to continue improving its intellectual property laws and their enforcement, particularly in
