support its work. Intellectual property enforcement through the Lebanese judiciary remains weak. The United States urges imposition of deterrent-level penalties for infringers. The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Lebanon to address these and other issues.
Europe and Eurasia
Belarus
Belarus remains on the Watch List in 2015. Levels of piracy and counterfeiting remain high in Belarus, and enforcement is weak. Despite passing laws in 2014 to make it easier for notaries to collect and preserve evidence of online IPR infringement for later court proceedings and to provide legal protection for plant varieties, Belarus' criminal law, criminal procedure, civil, and administrative codes—as well as its copyright and customs laws—remain inadequate to deal with IPR infringement. For example, copyright infringement is not a violation of criminal law in Belarus unless it occurs within a year after imposition of an administrative penalty for the same offense or is associated with the receipt of "large-scale" income. Similarly, trademark counterfeiting is not a criminal offense unless it happens within a year after imposition of an administrative penalty for the same offense. Moreover, Belarusian law does not explicitly give police officers ex officio authority to initiate IPR criminal cases or provide customs officials ex officio power to seize counterfeit and pirated goods and begin their own investigations. In 2014, Belarus also failed to follow through on plans to expand administrative liability for traffickers in counterfeit goods and to increase minimum administrative penalties for IPR infringement. The United States recognizes Belarus' participation in two recent INTERPOL-organized law enforcement operations targeting counterfeit goods—Operation Black Poseidon III and Operation Opson IV—and urges Belarus to participate in more joint enforcement exercises with its neighbors and other countries. Last year, Belarus signed the Treaty establishing the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Part XXIII "Intellectual Property" and Annex 26 on protecting IPR. Given the free movement of goods within the EAEU, the United States looks forward to seeing how Belarus will implement the Treaty through related measures, at both the EAEU and national levels as well as through additional enforcement. The United States appreciates its discussions with Belarus on IPR issues and looks forward to further cooperation on them.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is on the Watch List in 2015. Despite some incremental progress on IPR protection and enforcement, the United States continues to have serious concerns regarding Bulgaria's actions to enforce its IPR laws and to significantly reduce Internet piracy. Bulgaria's Cybercrime Division has done outstanding work on IPR enforcement over the years, but its effectiveness was drastically reduced after the Division was transferred to the State Agency for National Security in October 2013. The United States understands that the current government plans to return the Division to the Ministry of Interior, and urges that this be done as soon as possible. The United States also encourages Bulgaria to devote the necessary resources to improving the prosecution of IPR cases. The United States supports the Prosecutor General's 2012 appointment of a new
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