China and India, as well as Russia, have long faced scrutiny in the USTR's so-called Special 301 report, regularly making appearances in the agency's "Priority Watch List." This year's report was no different, and the countries were joined by Argentina, Chile, Indonesia and Venezuela as trading partners that require further monitoring by the U.S. government.
The USTR cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and the U.S.'s subsequent measures to "isolate Russia from the global economy" — as the cause of the agency's "severely limited" ability to handle intellectual property protection and enforcement issues in Russia.
In addition to continued copyright and trademark infringement, the USTR said it was monitoring Russia's recent threat to counter international sanctions against it by allowing intellectual property to be used without the owner's permission or compensation.
But Russia's intellectual property situation was "extremely challenging," the USTR said, pointing out that the country's court procedures, which include requiring plaintiffs to wait a month after notifying defendants of alleged infringement to file suit, have made it difficult to hold accused infringers liable for infringement.
"The United States urges Russia to develop a more comprehensive, transparent, and effective enforcement strategy to reduce IP infringement, particularly the sale of counterfeit goods and the piracy of copyright-protected works," the USTR wrote. "The United States continues to monitor Russia's progress on these and other matters through appropriate channels."
The report also notes that Ukraine, which was placed on the Priority Watch List last year, has worked with the U.S. on addressing concerns with its intellectual property system. But in the wake of Russia's "premeditated and unprovoked further invasion" of Ukraine, the USTR said it would be suspending review of the country in the latest report.
With regard to China, the USTR said it was monitoring Beijing's progress in implementing its commitments under phase one of the economic and trade agreement between the two countries, which was signed in January 2020.
While China amended its patent, copyright and criminal laws in 2021 to address its intellectual property scheme for protection and enforcement, rights holders continue to have concerns with the adequacy of the measures implemented, according to the report.
India, for its part, has been inconsistent in its intellectual property enforcement and protection, the USTR said, noting particular issues in the patent field and that the country "remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP."
USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai said in a statement Wednesday the report identifies "trading partners that are falling short" after receiving extensive stakeholder input.
"Intellectual property-intensive industries support more than 60 million jobs — from the independent inventor just starting out to the documentary filmmaker studying critical social issues," Tai said. "We need robust protection and enforcement in foreign countries to protect these individuals, their livelihoods, and ensure they can fairly compete in the global marketplaces."
The report also notes the USTR is "working hard to facilitate an outcome on IP that can achieve consensus" with World Trade Organization members to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The United States will continue to engage with WTO members as part of the Biden-Harris administration's comprehensive effort to get as many safe and effective vaccines to as many people as fast as possible," the report states.
--Editing by Lakshna Mehta.
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