USTR Releases 2009 Special 301 Report

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual “Special 301” Report on April 30, 2009 covering the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection by U.S. trading partners.    Significant developments in this year’s Report include: 

·         Canada is being elevated to the Priority Watch List for the first time, reflecting increasing concern about the continuing need for copyright reform, as well as continuing concern about weak border enforcement. 

·         USTR is also elevating Algeria and Indonesia to the Priority Watch List, reflecting growing concern about the IPR situation in those countries.  

·         Korea is being removed from the Watch List in recognition of the significant improvements it has made during the past year, and the Korean Government’s policy direction of continuing to place a priority on improving its IPR regime.  This marks the first time in the history of the report that Korea has not appeared on either the Watch List or the Priority Watch List.  USTR will, however, continue to monitor closely the ongoing problem of Internet piracy in Korea, and will be prepared to consider returning Korea to the Watch List in the future if it does not respond effectively to this challenge through its implementation of newly enacted legislation and other steps. 

·         Again this year, USTR’s Special 301 Report highlights the prominence of IPR concerns with respect to China and Russia, despite some evidence of improvement in both countries:   

o        USTR announced that it would maintain pressure on China by including it on the Priority Watch List.  “I am particularly troubled by reports that Chinese officials are urging more lenient enforcement of IPR laws, motivated by the financial crisis and the need to maintain jobs,” said Ambassador Kirk. “China needs to strengthen its approach to IPR protection and enforcement, not weaken it.” 

o        The Administration also continues to seek improvements to the intellectual property regime in Russia.  The United States is committed to ensuring that Russia fulfills the promises it made to improve its IPR protection and enforcement regimes as part of a bilateral agreement with the United States.