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geographical indications for foodstuffs and agricultural products. Concerns have been expressed that this regulation denies national treatment and does not adequately protect trademarks. The EU continues to deny national treatment to U.S. intellectual property right holders in other areas as well. For example, the reciprocity requirement in the data base directive continues to be of concern. Restrictions in certain member states also deny market access opportunities for U.S. right holders. Other intellectual property issues of concern to the United States are being addressed in the context of the U.S. - EU TransAtlantic Economic Partnership discussions.
Greece: High rates of copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting continue to be of serious concern. In 1998 Ambassador Barshefsky announced the initiation of WTO dispute settlement consultations with Greece and the European Union regarding the high rates of television piracy in Greece. Those consultations are on-going. The Government of Greece has taken steps toward addressing this problem, including the passage of additional legislation and the recent closure of two television stations. However, Greek TV stations continue to broadcast U.S.-owned motion pictures and television programming without authorization. U.S. right holders continue to be unable to find effective relief in the courts, where television piracy cases are generally accorded the lowest priority by prosecutors and judges. We look to Greece and the European Union to recognize their obligations and to move quickly to end piracy of U.S. copyrighted works.
Guatemala: Guatemala is being elevated to the Priority Watch List because it has failed to enforce adequately existing laws, claims that copyright infringement remains a "private action," and has a legal regime that does not meet international standards. Although it is making some efforts to modernize its intellectual property regime, Guatemala's continuing failure to enforce its laws must be remedied. There has been virtually no enforcement by the government of the new Copyright Law, and piracy remains widespread. Although the software industry has successfully brought some civil actions against resellers of pirated software, distribution and use of illegally copied software – including use by government agencies – is commonplace. Piracy of signals by cable system operators continues. Guatemala's 1986 patent law is out of date and falls far short of international standards. Guatemala's trademark law provides insufficient protection for owners of well-known marks. We call on the Government of Guatemala to effectively enforce its laws and bring its legal regime into conformity with TRIPS no later than January 1, 2000. As a major beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), it is incumbent upon the Government of Guatemala to provide adequate and effective protection for intellectual property.
India: Notwithstanding the recent resolution of the U.S. WTO case filed against India regarding certain types of transitional patent protection for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products, India's patent and trademark laws continue to fall well short of meeting TRIPS standards and providing adequate and effective protection. India has a modern copyright law; however, the Indian Government has failed to take sufficient enforcement actions to control high levels of piracy of videos, video CDs, cable systems, computer software and sound recordings. The United States urges the Government ofIndia to amend its patent and trademark laws to comply fully with TRIPS requirements, and to make progress toward addressing the enforcement situation before next year's review.
