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The Dominican Republic is being elevated to the Priority Watch List because it continues to have inadequate enforcement of its existing laws and a legal regime that does not meet international standards. The government's actions to date to enforce the copyright law have not been sufficient to stem widespread piracy of video and audio tapes, compact discs, and software. While larger cable TV systems generally pay royalties to U.S. right holders, smaller ones continue to pirate satellite signals, and the Government has not responded to requests from U.S. industry for more effective enforcement. Trademarks — particularly of apparel and athletic shoes — are commonly counterfeited and sold locally. The patent law still contains broad exceptions from patentability, and provides an inadequate term of protection. In the next year, we look to the Government of the Dominican Republic to enforce its existing laws more aggressively and bring its legal regime into conformity with TRIPS on or before the January 1, 2000 deadline.
Ecuador. For the past several years, the U.S. Government has repeatedly expressed concern regarding Ecuador's failure to comply with its international intellectual property obligations, failure to act on pending pipeline applications, and failure to address continuing U.S. concerns regarding the onerous Dealers' Act. On April 22, the Ecuadoran Congress passed a new comprehensive IPR law. We understand that President Alarcon has not yet signed the legislation. We have not yet received a copy of the final version of the law and will need time to translate and analyze its contents before we can comment on it. We further understand that on April 29 the Government of Ecuador issued the first approvals of pending pipeline applications, but that the great majority remain pending. U.S. companies also continue to face problems caused by the Dealers' Act. We are, therefore, deferring an announcement for 45 days. All of these issues will be factors in the U.S. Government's review of its options.
Egypt lacks adequate patent protection for pharmaceuticals. The current law excludes pharmaceutical products from patentability and contains overly broad compulsory licensing provisions. President Mubarak has indicated his intention to delay pharmaceutical product protection until the year 2005, despite substantial assistance from the U.S. Government to help Egypt prepare modern legislation. The Egyptian trademark law is not enforced strenuously; fines amount to less than $100 per seizure, not per infringement, although criminal penalties are theoretically available. The resumption of enforcement against software piracy in September 1997 was a significant step forward, and there is reason to hope that Egypt will continue to recognize the importance of good copyright enforcement. In the coming year, we look to Egypt to move toward quick enactment of a patent law and to strengthen the enforcement of the copyright and trademark laws.
The European Union continues to deny national treatment to U.S. intellectual property right holders with respect to the distribution of revenues collected in association with blank tape levies and public performances. Domestic content restrictions in certain member states deny market access opportunities for U.S. right holders. The EU's single trademark system is problematic for the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The reciprocity requirement in the recently approved data base directive also raises concerns. On the positive side, through the European Patent Office, EU countries are taking steps to reduce the extraordinarily high fees associated with filing, issuance
