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Qatar to legalize the software used in government offices, improve copyright enforcement, implement its TRIPS obligations, and move rapidly toward providing product patent protection for pharmaceuticals.
Saudi Arabia's existing laws, regulations, and procedures fall short of international standards in several key areas. While the Saudi Government needs to make its laws consistent with TRIPS to gain WTO membership, the most pressing need is for better enforcement of existing laws. There was, however, some improvement in enforcement in 1997. Industry noted a significant drop in the use of illegal software and in video piracy. However, business software is still widely pirated and the Government needs to control the use of illegal software in its own offices. We urge the Saudi Government to move quickly to bring its laws into conformity with TRIPS as part of its WTO accession process, to increase effective IPR enforcement, and to adopt an effective management plan to eliminate illegal software from government offices.
Levels of IPR protection in Singapore exceed those of other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. However, recent trends indicate that piracy (particularly CD-based copyright infringement) and transshipment are growing. A notable deficiency is Singapore's "self-policing" copyright enforcement policy, which is outdated and ineffective. The Government has shown a willingness in recent months to enforce the copyright laws itself rather than leave the responsibility to right holders. We will closely monitor developments to determine whether this trend continues and whether a proposed new voluntary industry code of conduct for CD producers reduces piracy. In February 1998 the Singaporean Parliament amended the copyright law to eliminate some TRIPS inconsistencies. The Government of Singapore is drafting legislation to implement its TRIPS obligations to protect trade secrets.
South Africa amended its Medicines Act in December 1997. The new law appears to empower the Minister of Health to abrogate patent rights for pharmaceuticals. It also would permit parallel imports. Implementation of the law has been suspended pending the resolution of a constitutional challenge in the South African courts. Undisclosed data also is not adequately protected under South African Law. The need to provide such protection quickly is demonstrated by the approval in South Africa of a generic copy of a medicine which still has undisclosed data protected from competitors' use in many countries. South Africa took the welcome step of amending its intellectual property laws in 1997 to criminalize trading in counterfeit goods, though TRIPS deficiencies remain. South Africa should strengthen enforcement of intellectual property laws. U.S. industry estimates that losses to copyright piracy increased by 26% between 1996 and 1997. During the coming year, we look to the Government of South Africa to enact TRIPs-consistent legislation protecting undisclosed information, to make clear in regulations or legislation that the powers granted in the Medicines Act are consistent with its international obligations and to clarify what actions may be taken pursuant to that Act and under what circumstances. We are committed to working with the South African Government to achieve these ends while addressing serious health care concerns in South Africa.
