Belarus was put on the U.S. Trade Representative’s intellectual property rights watch list after new legislation allowed the unlawful use of copyrighted works from nations penalizing Belarus for backing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Due to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, USTR’s 2023 Special 301 Report on U.S. trading partners’ IP rights safeguards extended last year’s suspension of its evaluation of Ukraine’s IP practices.
The USTR’s assessment placed NATO member Bulgaria on its watch list for failing to investigate internet infringement allegations adequately.
The study now monitors 29 nations for IP rights abuses and shortcomings. This year’s priority watchlist is China, Chile, Argentina, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela.
USTR claimed Belarus’s statute permits profits from unauthorized IP use to be moved to the national budget, benefiting Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko’s dictatorship.
USTR said that China continues to update its Patent Law, Copyright Law, and Criminal Law as agreed in a 2020 “Phase 1” trade deal with former president Donald Trump, but “the pace of reforms aimed at IP issues slowed.”
“While right holders have welcomed some positive developments, they raise concerns about the adequacy and effective implementation of these measures,” including technological transfer, trade secrets, and counterfeiting.
USTR also stated the research raises concerns about the European Union’s “aggressive promotion” of its exclusionary regional indications laws on cheeses, wines, and other agricultural goods, which harm U.S. trademarks that predate such EU safeguards.
The trade agency also expressed worry about EU intentions to expand geographic indicators to clothes, ceramics, glass, and handicrafts. Member states already control most of the application evaluation process under the January policy.
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