In many cases, these actions lead to permanent improvement in the situation. Bulgaria is a notable example. Several years ago it was one of Europe's largest sources of pirate CDs, and a major cause of concern for us. Since then, we have worked with the European Union to raise awareness and concern about the problem, and Bulgaria has at this point almost totally eliminated pirate production. At times, however, we must use the sanction authority granted to us for worst case offenders.
China is a prime example.
These helped us to win bilateral IP agreements in 1995 and 1996. Our follow-up work since has been to ensure that all relevant Chinese agencies including trade, customs, judiciary, police and senior political officials are involved. Today, China has a relatively functioning system, which protects copyright much more effectively than ever before. Enforcement of intellectual property rights has become part of China's nationwide anti-crime campaign, involving the Chinese police and court system in fighting piracy. Production of pirated copyrighted works has dropped dramatically.