Government will also look to Poland to sustain an adequate and effective enforcement effort against IPR violators in order to establish a deterrent effect in Poland, including at the Stadium.
In addition, despite the Polish Government restoring the provision for three-year confidentiality for data submitted to the health authorities by pharmaceutical firms, shortcomings in the law remain. Specifically, linkage to the patent term is introduced in the law and the period of data protection runs from the date of first marketing authorization granted anywhere in the world, rather than within Poland. Poland agreed to make supplementary protection certificates available for pharmaceuticals registered since January 1, 2000, as required by EU law. However, pharmaceutical firms remain vulnerable on certain older products because they are protected only by process patents.
QATAR
Qatar was removed from the Special 301 Watch List last year in recognition of its enforcement actions against copyright infringement, as well as its commitment to amend copyright and trademark laws to comply with its obligations under the TRIPS Agreement. Qatar has drafted amendments to these laws, but has not yet signed and implemented the necessary legislation. Therefore, Qatar is being placed on the Watch List this year. In addition, although Qatar has pursued some enforcement actions against copyright infringement, high levels of end-user piracy of unauthorized computer software continues.
ROMANIA
Piracy of sound recordings, audiovisual products (videos, broadcast television, and cable television), and computer software persists at high rates despite reforms to the legal regime. Inconsistent enforcement and understanding of IPR legislation, the low level of priority given piracy by regional and local authorities, and the lack of resources dedicated to combating piracy combine to make intellectual property rights protection a continuing challenge in Romania.
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia has made notable progress in improving the enforcement of intellectual property rights over the past year. During 2001, the Ministry of Information stepped up investigations, raids and seizures, in conjunction with U.S. companies and U.S. industry groups, and the Ministry of Commerce also established a Fraud Control Department, which has conducted thousands of inspections and seizures. However, the United States remains concerned about continued high losses experienced by U.S. copyright and trademark-based industries and the absence of long-awaited revised intellectual property rights legislation. U.S. industry has expressed frustration with the lack of transparency in the enforcement system, procedural hurdles to judicial enforcement, and the absence of deterrent penalties. Saudi Arabia is currently working to revise its IPR laws to bring them into conformity with the TRIPS Agreement as part of its efforts to join the WTO. The United States looks to Saudi Arabia to strengthen its intellectual property rights enforcement efforts. In particular, the U.S. urges Saudi Arabia
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