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performances, the scope of copyright protection for cinematographic works and overly broad exceptions from copyright protection. Singapore's level of economic development is sufficiently advanced to expect TRIPs implementation as a developed country.
Thailand: Despite progress in providing more effective intellectual property protection, including the entry into force of a modern copyright law in March 1995, certain concerns remain. These include: a falling off of enforcement activity in 1995; the lack of a TRIPs-consistent patent law; and the need to ensure that deterrent penalties are imposed on convicted pirates. To better monitor this situation, an out-of-cycle review will occur in October.
UAE (United Arab Emirates): Piracy of motion pictures and sound recordings has been largely eliminated in the UAE. However, a 1995 "out-of-cycle" review confirmed that software piracy remains a serious problem. While the pace of enforcement activity against business software piracy picked up in 1995, efforts have not been sufficiently aggressive or penalties severe enough to significantly reduce the level of illegal activity. The UAE's copyright law omits specific protection for sound recordings and is deficient in a number of other areas. UAE patent law exempts medicines and pharmaceutical compounds from protection and contains onerous compulsory licensing provisions. Concerns remain about reports of the unauthorized production of pharmaceutical products.
Venezuela: While Venezuela's copyright law establishes a generally effective and Berne-consistent system, the GOV's enforcement efforts against copyright piracy continue to be modest. Piracy and lack of border enforcement continue to be a significant problem. Deficiencies in its patent and trademark regime include compulsory licensing provisions, working requirements, inadequate protection of pharmaceutical patents, and lack of protection against parallel imports. The United States will continue to monitor the implementation and enforcement of IPR laws, as well as proceedings for patent and trademark applications. Venezuela has not yet fully implemented the WTO TRIPs Agreement.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS
This year, the USTR wishes to draw attention to a number of countries where the lack of adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights also is a concern. These countries are the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, Nicaragua and Qatar. The USTR expects these countries to take steps to address the shortcomings in their intellectual property regimes. In the case of Nicaragua, the United States and Nicaragua continue their negotiations on a bilateral IPR Agreement to help resolve these problems. The USTR will monitor developments in all of these countries and, in next year's Special 301 review, will assess the extent to which they have made progress in providing better protection for intellectual property.
In addition, the USTR wishes to note developments in the following countries.
Bolivia has made some efforts to enforce its antipiracy laws. However, TV, book, and sound
