Once ratified by the parliament and the U.S. Senate, the U.S.-Georgia Bilateral Investment Treaty will provide substantial protection for U.S. Investments. Export Subsidies Policies Taxes on exports have been eliminated but exports are not generally subsidized. Georgia is not a WTO member and not subject to its subsidies agreement. The bilateral agreement with Georgia entered into force in 1993. Laws protecting patents and trademarks are adequate, but copyright protection is governed by outdated and ineffective Soviet legislation.
Limited resources are available for the enforcement and protection of intellectual property.
In January 1994 Georgia became a party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, but implementing domestic legislation has not been completed. In 1995 Georgia joined the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. A draft law on copyright will be considered by the new parliament. The absence of copyright protection has permitted some small-scale pirating of U.S. motion pictures computer software and sound recordings. Cases of patent infringement have not been reported.