The United States views the few ad hoc and nontransparent government actions against online piracy as underscoring the need for Ukraine to establish a predictable and transparent system to combat online piracy. Enhanced interagency coordination, consultation with all affected stakeholders and targeted legal reforms to provide clarity and predictability are necessary to creating an adequate and effective strategy to combat online piracy.
Other IPR Concerns
In addition to the acts, policies, and practices that are the grounds for this PFC designation, the United States remains concerned about other IPR matters discussed in previous Special 301 Reports. Industry has reported that criminal prosecution for counterfeiting crimes are stalled and ineffective, and that seized goods are not disposed of or released in a timely manner. Additionally, large amounts of counterfeit products, as well as pirated goods, are openly sold in physical market in Ukraine. The United States will continue to engage Ukraine bilaterally on these and other matters, outside of the Section 301 investigation.
The acts, policies, and practices described as the grounds for PFC have cumulatively resulted in significant financial damage to U.S. copyright-related industries, including the foregone market opportunities and the impact on the markets in other countries. Intensive bilateral engagement by the United States has not resulted in meaningful change, and the situation in Ukraine appears to have worsened rather than improved in 2012.
As a consequence of this PFC designation, the USTR will determine pursuant to section 302 of the Trade Act of 1974 whether to initiate an investigation of Ukraine's acts, policies, and practices that are the basis for its designation as a PFC.
PRIORITY WATCH LIST
Algeria
Algeria remains on the Priority Watch List in 2013. The United States continues to urge Algeria to address the ban on an increasing number of imported pharmaceutical products and medical devices in favor of local products. Among other problems, this ban has caused shortages of critical medications as local manufacturers have been unable to meet demand. The United States is particularly concerned that Algeria has suspended processing of applications for drug registrations by foreign manufacturers. The United States remains concerned about the lack of protection against the unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of test and other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products. A notable positive step in in late 2012 and early 2013 was Algeria's counterfeit awareness campaign, which resulted in the seizure and destruction of counterfeited goods. If sustained, such a campaign could help to curb the increase over the past two years in the number of physical markets for pirated goods operating in Algeria. The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Algeria to address these and other issues.
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