Pakistan
Pakistan remains on the Priority Watch List in 2013. Pakistan continued its efforts on IPR enforcement, including through raids, seizures, and arrests by various enforcement authorities. Notably, the government enacted the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan Act, 2012 (IPO Act), which establishes a permanent coordinating structure for IPR protection and enforcement. The IPO Act provides national authorities with greater IPR enforcement powers, and provides for the establishment of specialized IP tribunals. However, Pakistan has yet to improve IPR protection, despite the new IPO Act. Widespread counterfeiting and piracy, particularly book and optical disc piracy, continue to present serious concerns for U.S. industry. Pakistan should ensure that its enforcement officials can exercise ex officio authority without the need for a formal complaint by a rights holder, and should provide for deterrent-level penalties for criminal IPR infringement. Pakistan should also take the necessary steps to reform its copyright law to address the piracy challenges of the digital age. The United States continues to encourage Pakistan to provide an effective system for protecting against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of test and other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products. The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Pakistan as Pakistan begins to implement the IPO Act, and to address these and other issues.
Russia
Russia remains on the Priority Watch List in 2013 as a result of continued significant challenges to IPR protection, notably inadequate enforcement against the growing problem of online piracy. However, the United States is encouraged by Russia's agreement to the United States-Russian Federation Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan (Action Plan) in December 2012, which identifies objectives for IPR protection and expresses a shared belief that "strong IPR protection and enforcement are vital to promoting innovation and creativity by securing the rights of innovators and the creative community, attracting high-technology investment, and fostering the jobs necessary for long-term sustainable growth."
After an 18-year negotiation process, Russia became a member of the WTO on August 22, 2012. The United States welcomes the improvements Russia has made to its protection of IPR during the accession process, including the adoption of legislation consistent with Russia's commitments in the 2006 United States-Russia Bilateral Agreement on IPR. Russia has established a new unified fee system for issuing patents and registering trademarks, licenses, and assignments. Russia enacted amendments to the Law on Circulation of Medicines, which addresses protection of undisclosed test data. Russia has also revoked its reservation to Article 18 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which commits Russia to providing protection for works that existed prior to 1995 that were still under copyright protection in the United States and all other Berne member countries.
The United States also welcomes the trends described in the most recent data available on the usage of pirated software in Russia, which is reported to have dropped during the last six years, although software piracy remains a significant problem despite this progress. The United States awaits with interest the operation of the IPR civil court that Russia is establishing this year, and
41
