WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- In Monday's Special 301 Report by the U.S. Trade Representative on intellectual piracy the same group of countries named last year continued on the government's watch list, with several countries advancing to the next-most-problematic category, and two new countries -- Bulgaria and Belize -- appearing on the list for the first time.
Poland was downgraded to a less-risky category.
"The United States places a high priority on effective intellectual property protection of American creativity," said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. "We are encouraged by the positive steps that several countries have taken to strengthen IPR protection over the past year. However, the need for significant improvement remains, particularly in the areas of implementation and enforcement. This report sends a message to governments on this year's list that it is important to exercise the political will necessary to effectively address IP-related concerns."
The annual report, released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, examines the state of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in several countries around the world. The Special 301 Report takes its name from Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
Though several countries have taken steps to improve IPR protection, the report says some governments should take stronger actions to combat commercial piracy and counterfeiting.
Some issues emphasized in this year's USTR report were reducing illegal production of "optical media" products like CDs, VCDs, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, reducing internet piracy, implementation of the TRIPS Agreement (internationally agreed norms for protecting patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, and trade secrets), and urging governments to only use legitimate software.
"Our industries account for over 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product and USTR's support in improving global copyright enforcement is vital to these industries," said Eric Smith of the International Intellectual Property Alliance, which represents a coalition of six trade associations representing 1,300 U.S.-based copyright companies.
IIPA is comprised of six trade associations, each representing a significant segment of the U.S. copyright community. These member associations represent over 1,300 U.S. companies producing and distributing materials protected by copyright laws throughout the world -- all types of computer software including business applications software and entertainment software.
This year's Special 301 Report lists 52 countries as Priority Foreign Countries, Priority Watch List (PWL), Watch List (WL) or slated for Section 306 monitoring, for countries that have entered into bilateral agreements to combat IPR violations.
"Estimated losses to the U.S economy due to copyright piracy in just the 52 countries listed in today's USTR's Special 301 decision amounted to over $10 billion in 2003, and an estimated $20-$22 billion globally, not including losses due to Internet piracy," said Smith. "The rapid growth of e-commerce and the Internet bring new opportunities and challenges, particularly for these copyright industries whose products will increasingly be traded globally using this new distribution technology."
Priority Foreign Countries are those whose policies are most harmful to U.S. right holders or products, and are subject to accelerated investigations and possible sanctions. Ukraine remains a Priority Foreign Country.
Countries or economies on the Priority Watch List do not provide enough IPR protection or enforcement of laws protecting IPR, or market access for persons relying on intellectual property protection. The 15 U.S. trading partners on this year's Priority Watch List are Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Egypt, EU, India, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey.
Countries on the Watch List require bilateral talks to address IPR problems, the report said. The 34 U.S. trading partners on the Watch List are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
China and Paraguay, designated as Special 306 countries, will be monitored under previous bilateral agreements reached with the United States to address IPR problems mentioned in earlier reports.
"The issue ... ultimately is one of the foreign government's political will to effectively address piracy and counterfeiting," the report said.
The USTR report also noted several positive developments. Poland and the Philippines recently passed legislation that will help fight optical media piracy. Lebanon, Malaysia, Poland and Taiwan have started increasing enforcement of IPR. And, Romania has made sure its government ministries use legitimate software.
Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of the Business Software Alliance, a member of the IIPA, said: "The software industry has made great strides in its efforts to assist nations working in good faith to update their intellectual property protections for the digital age. However, piracy remains the largest trade barrier for our industry. In 2002, global losses from software piracy totaled more than $13 billion."
Reducing piracy would also increase jobs, BSA said. Worldwide, 39 percent of all commercial software in use is pirated, according to BSA. Worldwide, reducing the amount of pirated software by 10 percent by 2006 could deliver 1.5 million jobs, $64 billion in new tax revenues and $400 billion in economic growth, according to a study conducted for BSA last year by global research firm IDC.
The "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, requires the USTR to identify foreign countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or fair and equitable market access for U.S. persons that rely on intellectual property protection. Special 301 was amended in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
