IIPA Hails USTR Decision To Designate Ukraine A Priority Foreign Country
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) 1 praised the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for designating Uk raine as a Priority Foreign Country (PFC), the most serious ranking available in the Speci al 301 trade program identifying countries that fail to pr ovide adequate and effective protection for U.S. intellectu al property and/or fair and equitable market access. IIPA also commends USTR for its 2013 Special 301 Report, listing 40 other countries on either th e Priority Watch List or the Watch List, and launching reviews in 2 additional countries, incl uding Spain, for their shortcomings in copyright protection and enforcement and/or market access for U.S. copyrights.
Special 301 is an important trade tool to identify country practices that warrant attention for lax copyright protection or closed markets. American, fore ign, and local creators an d distributors need strong copyright protection and enforcement, in combination with better market access, to ge nerate millions of skilled high-wage jobs, further expa nd exports, and contribute s ubstantially to their nations’ economies. By identifying problem markets and seeking concrete solutions to IP theft and market barriers, USTR’s Report signals the Administration’s continuing commitment to protect our nation’s most valuable IP assets. We thank all those in the U.S. Government for continuing to engage bilaterally and regionally to encourage our trading partners to make concrete progress toward the goal of str onger and more open IP marketplaces worldwide.
IIPA Counsel Eric J. Schwartz added regarding Ukra ine, “This is the first time that USTR has had a country designated as a PFC since 2005, and the designation is clearly justified. Piracy rates in Ukraine have worsened over the past two years, preventing legitimate ri ght holders from being able to do business in Ukraine. Ukraine is, by its own admission, the source of widespread free and pay-for-download (a nd streaming) piracy of copyrighted materials through websites such as ex.ua, which have halted the development of a legitimate copyright market locally and harmed in ternational markets for content. Colle cting societies that have been duly authorized by right holders have lost their accreditation from the State, resulting in market confusion and loss of revenue in an already highly challenged marketplace. So ftware piracy remains rampant, including significant unlicensed software use by government agencies. High-qua lity unauthorized camcording of films in Ukraine’s theaters are uploaded to top pirate s ites and distributed across the Internet . We hope this designation today will stimulate Ukraine to make real and measurable progress against piracy.
Source: IIPA
