On a positive note, the United States is encouraged by the efforts of the National Copyright Office to investigate and punish copyright piracy, and to educate the public and judiciary about the importance of compliance with and enforcement of, the copyright law. However, copyright and trademark owners, as well as patent holders, continue to have difficulty in enforcing their intellectual property rights. Current efforts to enforce the copyright law have not prevented the widespread sale of pirated materials. In addition, we are concerned about the recent apparent increase in television piracy. The U.S. Government looks forward to further consultations with the Dominican Republic on possible improvements in its intellectual property rights regime.
EGYPT
Despite significant ongoing U.S. Government technical IPR assistance, Egypt has not yet enacted modern intellectual property rights laws to comply with its international obligations. The United States is encouraged, however, by reports that such laws may be passed by the end of this spring. The United States continues to strongly urge Egypt to correct the reported deficiencies in the draft copyright and patent laws before these laws are enacted by the legislature. The United States remains concerned, in particular, about the possible insertion in the draft patent law of a previously rejected provision calling for health-related patents to be reviewed by the Ministry of Health, which would appear to contradict the TRIPS Agreement requirement to provide patent protection without discrimination as to field of technology. On a positive note, the U.S. Government welcomes improvements that have been made regarding protection of test data and exclusive marketing rights, which we hope will remain in the final bill. The United States is also heartened by the steps Egypt has taken to ensure the authorized use of legitimate business software by government entities. However, enforcement on the whole remains lax and copyright piracy remains unchecked. The U.S. Government is also seriously concerned about the continuing problem of granting false licenses to pirates by the Ministry of Culture, a practice that undermines copyright protection, in particular for entertainment software and music.
EUROPEAN UNION
At the conclusion of the 1999 Special 301 review, the United States initiated a WTO dispute settlement case against the EU, based on the apparent TRIPS deficiencies in EU Regulation 2081/92, which governs the protection of geographical indications (GIs) for agricultural products and foodstuffs in the EU. The Regulation appears to deny national treatment to foreign GIs. According to the plain language of the Regulation, only EU GIs may be protected. Foreign GIs cannot be registered in the EU, and thus are not eligible for protection. In addition, although the Regulation permits EU nationals to oppose or cancel GIs, non-EU nationals are prohibited from raising any objections. With respect to trademarks, the Regulation permits dilution and even cancellation of trademarks when a GI is created later in time. The United States requested consultations regarding this matter on June 1, 1999, and numerous consultations have been held since then. In March of this year, the EU produced proposed amendments to the Regulation. Although the proposal, as written, would address some of the deficiencies of the Regulation, it is lacking in several significant respects, including its treatment of
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