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- and Neighboring Rights, which expanded certain rights and remedies, and entered into effect on January 1, 2003.
- The Greek General Secretary of the Ministry of Interior signed a circular directing the appropriate use and procurement of all government software.
- The Ho Chi Minh City Economic Police in Vietnam raided a workshop producing high quality counterfeit famous name brand shoes and resulted in the seizure of 23 truckloads of fake components, supplies, and production equipment.
August
- On August 6, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
- On August 10, Thailand's Economic Crimes Investigation Division conducted Thailand's first successful raid against a cyber-pirate, shutting down an operation that marketed pirate software, music, and movies over the internet and at local shopping malls.
- On August 15th, the Kyrgyz Republic became party to the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and became a party to the Trademark Law Treaty.
- Colombia passed Decree 2085 which provides data exclusivity protection as provided for under TRIPS Article 39.3.
- From February to August of 2002, El Salvador conducted a joint audit with the Business Software Alliance (BSA) of all government computers within the executive branch and several autonomous agencies and agreed to replace all unregistered software.
- The Qatar Ministry of Economy and Commerce established a committee to supervise a new trademark enforcement campaign and began a renewed emphasis on combating trademark violations.
- Saudi Arabia issued an amendment to the trademarks law, effective December 2002, providing for trademark protection for renewable 10-year terms of exclusive ownership. Penalties allow for fines up to sr 1 million (USD 267,000) and jail time up to one year, which may be doubled for repeat offenders.
September
- On September 1, Estonia's new Penal Code and the new Misdemeanor Law were implemented, criminalizing IPR violations and increasing possible fines.
May 1, 2003
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