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Developments in Intellectual Property Rights
1997
May
- Indonesia approved amendments aimed at bringing the country's copyright law into compliance with the standards of TRIPs. The amendments include the establishment of exclusive rental rights for computer programs and sound recordings and the extension of the term of protection of computer programs to 50 years.
- The Government of Indonesia ratified the Paris text of the Berne Convention (Decree No. 18 of 1997) on May 7.
- Indonesia ratified the new WIPO Copyright Treaty (Decree No. 19 of 1997) on May 7.
June
- The Government of the Philippines enacted a comprehensive IPR Code (Republic Act 8293) on June 8.
- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passed a new copyright law addressing software decompilation and parallel imports, and also granted customs enhanced authority to seize suspected pirated goods.
- On June 24, the San Marino Parliament approved a new law concerning bootlegging and other IPR issues, such as the mark of origin system on molds for locally manufactured CDs.
July
- Hungarian law on trademarks and geographic indications became effective July 1st. This law greatly enhances the possibility of obtaining injunctions for trademark infringement.
- A Russian Anti-Piracy Organization was established by the U.S. and Russian film industries to assist in enforcement training.
September
- WTO Panel ruled in favor of the United States in our case against India regarding India's failure to establish a "mailbox" system for filing patent applications for pharmaceuticals
