19970 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 87 / Friday, May 3, 1996 / Notices

ACTION: Identification of countries that

deny adequate protection for

intellectual property rights or market

access for persons who rely on

intellectual property protection.

SUMMARY: The United States Trade

Representative (USTR) is directed by

section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as

amended (the Trade Act) (19 U.S.C.

2242), to identify those foreign countries

that deny adequate and effective

protection of intellectual property rights

or deny fair and equitable market access

to United States persons that rely upon

intellectual property protection, and

those foreign countries determined to be

priority foreign countries. These

identifications must be made within 30

days of the date on which the annual

report is submitted to Congressional

committees under section 181(b) of the

Trade Act. They are presented below.

DATES: This identification took place on

April 30, 1996.

ADDRESS: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

N.W., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph Papovich, Deputy Assistant

USTR for Intellectual Property, (202)

395–6864, Jo Ellen Urban, Director for

Intellectual Property, (202) 395–6864, or

Thomas Robertson, Assistant General

Counsel, (202) 395–6800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

182 of the Trade Act requires the USTR

to identify within 30 days of the

publication of the National Trade

Estimates Report all trading partners

that deny adequate and effective

protection of intellectual property rights

or deny fair and equitable market access

to United States persons that rely upon

intellectual property protection. Those

countries that have the most onerous or

egregious acts, policies, or practices that

have the greatest adverse impact (actual

or potential) on the relevant United

States products must be identified as

‘‘priority foreign countries,’’ unless they

are entering into good faith negotiations

or are making significant progress in

bilateral or multilateral negotiations to

provide adequate and effective

protection for intellectual property

rights. In identifying countries in this

manner, the USTR is directed to take

into account the history of intellectual

property laws and practices of the

foreign country, including any previous

identifications as a priority foreign

country, and the history of efforts of the

United States, and the response of the

foreign country, to achieve adequate and

effective protection and enforcement of

intellectual property rights. In making

these determinations, the USTR must

consult with the Register of Copyrights,

the Commissioner of Patents and

Trademarks, other appropriate officials

of the Federal Government and take into

account information from other sources

such as information submitted by

interested persons.

On April 30, 1996, having consulted

with the appropriate private sector

advisory committees, the USTR

identified 34 trading partners as failing

to provide adequate and effective

intellectual property protection and fair

and equitable market access to persons

who rely on such protection. Of these

trading partners, China was identified as

a priority foreign country because of its

failure to implement the 1995

intellectual property enforcement

agreement. Economic damage to U.S.

industries continues to rise as a result.

Although China has made some

progress in halting the retail trade in

infringing goods, it has failed to stop

illegal CD production, to prevent the

export of infringing goods, or to honor

its promise to grant market access for

legitimate audiovisual products.

Because intellectual property

enforcement problems in China are

already the subject of an action under

section 301, a new section 30l

investigation will not be initiated. See

19 U.S.C. 2412(b)(2)(A)(ii); 59 FR 35558

(July 12, 1994); 60 FR 1829 (January 5,

1995); 60 FR 7230 (February 7, 1995); 60

FR 12582 (March 7, 1995). China’s

implementation of the 1995 agreement

will remain subject to section 306

monitoring. Trade sanctions for

noncompliance could be imposed

pursuant to a decision by USTR that

China is not satisfactorily implementing

the 1995 agreement. 19 U.S.C. 2416.

Eight other trading partners were

placed on the administratively-created

‘‘priority watch lists,’’ including

Argentina, the European Union, Greece,

India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and

Turkey. Greece and Argentina will be

subject to review during the course of

the year to maintain pressure for further

progress. Twenty-five other countries

were placed on the special 301 ‘‘watch

list,’’ including Australia, Bahrain,

Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa

Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, EL Salvador,

Guatemala, Italy, Kuwait, Oman,

Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the

Philippines, Poland, Romania, the

Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia,

Singapore, Thailand, the UAE (United

Arab Emirates), and Venezuela. The

intellectual property protection and

market access regimes of EL Salvador,

Italy, Paraguay, the Philippines, Russia,

Saudi Arabia, and Thailand will be

subject to ‘‘out-of-cycle’’ reviews. The

USTR noted growing concerns about

IPR problems in four countries, and

highlighted developments and

expectations for further progress in 15

other countries. Finally, the USTR

announced the impending initiation of

WTO dispute settlement cases against

Portugal, Pakistan, and India for patentrelated violations of the Agreement on

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights and Turkey for

violations of the national treatment

obligations in the General Agreement on

Tariffs and Trade 1994. Separate

Federal Register notices will be issued

detailing these cases at the appropriate

time.

Joseph Papovich,

Deputy Assistant USTR for Intellectual

Property.

[FR Doc. 96–11069 Filed 5–2–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

[Docket No. 301–103]

Initiation of Section 302 Investigation

and Request for Public Comment:

Practices of the Government of

Portugal Regarding the Term of Patent

Protection

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Representative.

ACTION: Notice of initiation of

investigation; request for written

comments.

SUMMARY: The United States Trade

Representative (USTR) has initiated an

investigation under section 302(b)(1) of

the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the

Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2412(b)(1)), with

respect to certain acts, policies and

practices of the Government of Portugal

relating to the term of existing patents.

The United States alleges that these acts,

policies and practices result in patents

owned by U.S. individuals and firms

receiving shorter terms than those

required by the Agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property

Rights (TRIPs Agreement), administered

by the World Trade Organization

(WTO). USTR invites written comments

from the public on the matters being

investigates.

DATES: This investigation was initiated

on April 30, 1996. Written comments

from the public are due on or before

noon on Monday, June 3, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Offices of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph Papovich, Deputy Assistant

USTR for Intellectual Property, (202)

395–6864, or Thomas Robertson,

Assistant General Counsel, (202) 395–

6800.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 87 / Friday, May 3, 1996 / Notices 19971

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

302(b)(1) of the Trade Act authorizes the

USTR to initiate an investigation under

chapter 1 of Title III of the Trade Act

(commonly referred to as ‘‘section 301’’)

with respect to any matter in order to

determine whether the matter is

actionable under section 301. Matters

actionable under section 301 include,

inter alia, the denial of rights of the

United States under a trade agreement,

or acts, policies, and practices of a

foreign country that violate or are

inconsistent with the provisions of, or

otherwise deny benefits to the United

States under, any trade agreement.

On April 30, 1996, having consulted

with the appropriate private sector

advisory committees, the USTR

determined that an investigation should

be initiated to determine whether

certain laws and regulations or Portugal

affecting patent term are actionable

under section 301(a). Articles 33 and 65

of the TRIPs Agreement require

developed country WTO members to

establish by January 1, 1996, a term of

protection for patents that runs from the

date of grant at least until twenty years

after the filing of the application for the

patent. Article 70 of the TRIPs

Agreement requires this term of

protection to be provided to patents

existing on January 1, 1996, and those

granted thereafter. While Portugal

modified its Patent Law to establish a

twenty-year-from-application patent

term, this term applies only to patents

granted after June 1, 1995, and does not

apply to patents granted before that

time. This failure appears to be

inconsistent with the obligations set

forth in Article 70 of the TRIPs

Agreement.

Investigation and Consultations

As required in section 303(a) of the

Trade Act, the USTR has requested

consultations with the Government of

Portugal regarding the issues under

investigation. The request was made

pursuant to Article 4 of the

Understanding on Rules and Procedures

Governing the Settlement of Disputes

(DSU) and Article 64 of the TRIPs

Agreement (to the extent that it

incorporates by reference Article XXII of

the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade 1994). If the consultations do not

result in a satisfactory resolution of the

matter, the USTR will request the

establishment of a panel pursuant to

Article 6 of the DSU.

Under section 304 of the Trade Act,

the USTR must determine within 18

months after the date on which this

investigation was initiated, or within 30

days after the conclusion of WTO

dispute settlement procedures,

whichever is earlier, whether any act,

policy, or practice or denial of trade

agreement rights described in section

301 of the Trade Act exists and, if that

determination is affirmative, the USTR

must determine what action, if any, to

take under section 301 of the Trade Act.

Public Comment: Requirements for

Submissions

Interested persons are invited to

submit written comments concerning

the acts, policies and practices of

Portugal which are the subject of this

investigation, the amount of burden or

restriction on U.S. commerce caused by

these acts, policies and practices, and

the determinations required under

section 304 of the Trade Act. Comments

must be filed in accordance with the

requirements set forth in 15 CFR

2006.8(b) (55 FR 20593) and must be

filed on or before noon on Monday, June

3, 1996. Comments must be in English

and provided in twenty copies to: Sybia

Harrison, Staff Assistant to the Section

301 Committee, Room 223, Office of the

U.S. Trade Representative, 600 17th

Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20508.

Comments will be placed in a file

(Docket 301–103) open to public

inspection pursuant to 15 CFR 2006.13,

except confidential business

information exempt from public

inspection in accordance with 15 CFR

2006.15. Confidential business

information submitted in accordance

with 15 CFR 2006.15 must be clearly

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’

in a contrasting color ink at the top of

each page on each of 20 copies, and

must be accompanied by a

nonconfidential summary of the

confidential information. The

nonconfidential summary shall be

placed in the file that is open to public

inspection. An appointment to review

the docket (Docket No. 301–103) may be

made by calling Brenda Webb (202)

395–6186. The USTR Reading Room is

open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 12

noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, and is located

in Room 101.

Irving A. Williamson,

Chairman, Section 301 Committee.

[FR Doc. 96–11067 Filed 5–2–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

[Docket No. 301–104]

Initiation of Section 302 Investigation

and Request for Public Comment:

Practices of the Government of

Pakistan Regarding Patent Protection

for Pharmaceuticals and Agricultural

Chemicals

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of initiation of

investigation; request for written

comments.

SUMMARY: The United States Trade

Representative (USTR) has initiated an

investigation under section 302(b)(1) of

the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the

Trade Act) (19 U.S.C. 2412(b)(1)), with

respect to certain acts, policies and

practices of the Government of Pakistan

that may result in the denial of patents

and exclusive marketing rights to U.S.

individuals and firms involved in the

development of innovative

pharmaceutical and agricultural

chemicals products. The United States

alleges that these acts, policies and

practices are inconsistent with the

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs

Agreement), administered by the World

Trade Organization (WTO). USTR

invites written comments from the

public on the matters being investigated.

DATES: This investigation was initiated

on April 30, 1996. Written comments

from the public are due on or before

noon on Monday, June 3, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Office of the United States

Trade Representative, 600 17th Street,

N.W., Washington, DC 20508.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph Papovich, Deputy Assistant

USTR for Intellectual Property, (202)

395–6864, or Thomas Robertson,

Assistant General Counsel, (202) 395–

6800.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section

302(b)(1) of the Trade Act authorizes the

USTR to initiate an investigation under

chapter 1 of Title III of the Trade Act

(commonly referred to as ‘‘section 301’’)

with respect to any matter in order to

determine whether the matter is

actionable under section 301. Matters

actionable under section 301 include

inter alia, the denial of rights of the

United States under a trade agreement,

or acts, policies, and practices of a

foreign country that violate or are

inconsistent with the provisions of, or

otherwise deny benefits to the United

States under, any trade agreement.

On April 30, 1996, having consulted

with the appropriate private sector

advisory committees, the USTR

determined that an investigation should