proposal to draft a law regulating the cable television industry and to mount an aggressive campaign against pirates. End-user piracy of computer software is widespread among large companies, banks, trading companies, and most government ministries. Also troubling is an overly broad software exception for certain educational uses in the new copyright law that seriously undermines the viability of this market for legitimate products. Book piracy also remains a serious problem. A 2001 petition by U.S. industry to suspend Lebanon's benefits under the GSP trade program is under review by the U.S. Government. A committed and vigorous program to enforce intellectual property rights, particularly copyright protection, is essential to the success of the Lebanese Government's efforts to reform its economy, increase trade and foreign direct investment and prepare for accession to the WTO.
PHILIPPINES
The Philippines has taken some steps to strengthen IPR legislation and enforcement, including providing patent protection to plant varieties; enhancing the ability of the Customs Bureau to stop IPR violations at ports of entry, and increasing the number of raids on suspected counterfeiters. Nonetheless, U.S. industry continues to report wide-ranging concerns. Optical media piracy has exploded in the past year and the Philippines has gone from being a net importer to being a net exporter of pirated optical media. Counterfeit products produced, marketed in, or exported from the Philippines include clothing, medicines, consumer electronics, automotive products, cosmetics and toys. Piracy of books, cable television, and software, especially by end-users, remains significant. The pharmaceutical industry has raised concerns about data exclusivity and enforcement issues. Evidence suggests the Philippines has become a "safe haven" for organized piracy and counterfeiting as neighboring economies improve their IPR enforcement. U.S. industry reports that counterfeit pharmaceutical products account for 30 percent of the market, increasingly threatening legitimate distribution channels and raising serious public health resources. The U.S. Government provided the Philippines with an IPR action plan in August 2002 with specific recommendations on judicial, legislative/regulatory, and enforcement issues, but the Philippines has yet to respond effectively to this plan. A key recommendation was to enact optical media legislation, but an optical media bill languishes in a Senate committee, and the Government of the Philippines has not made its passage a priority. The U.S. Government urges the Philippines to pass the optical media bill, criminally prosecute IPR violators, expedite pending IPR cases, establish deterrent penalties for IPR violators, and implement the WIPO digital treaties.
POLAND
Despite intensified USG engagement with the Polish government, the IPR situation in Poland has not improved since the 2002 review. The main concern substantively with Poland is the lack of political will by the Polish Government to shut down the open air market inside the Government owned Warsaw Stadium, which is awash in pirated optical media products and counterfeit goods. Although police raids at the stadium occur, the penalties imposed after
