Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic will remain on the Watch List in 2010. The Dominican Republic continued its efforts to implement its commitments under CAFTA-DR, but enforcement remains weak and requires improved coordination, additional resources, and training of enforcement personnel. The United States recognizes and appreciates that there were some improvements in 2009 with respect to the government's use of licensed software and television broadcast piracy, but we remain concerned that pirated goods continue to be widely available. The United States is also concerned about excessive delays in the issuance of patents. The United States will continue to monitor the Dominican Republic's implementation of its bilateral and multilateral obligations to provide an effective system for protecting against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approvals for pharmaceutical and agrochemical products, and to provide an effective system to address patent issues expeditiously in connection with applications to market pharmaceutical products. The United States looks forward to future cooperation on IPR matters with the Dominican Republic, and will continue to monitor the Dominican Republic's implementation of its IPR commitments under CAFTA-DR.
Ecuador
Ecuador will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Ecuador's Intellectual Property Institute continued to make progress in 2009 by continuing to reduce the processing time of patent applications, and by working to implement an electronic system for patent and trademark applications. The government is also undertaking public awareness and training efforts. However, serious concerns remain about overall IPR enforcement efforts, which decreased in 2009. Industry reported increases in piracy of music, movies, books, and business and entertainment software. Dedicated IPR units created in 2008 appear to lack the level of specialization required to be effective, and Ecuador has not yet established the specialized IPR courts required under its 1998 IPR law. The United States encourages Ecuador to provide effective protection against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical products, as well as to provide an effective system to address patent issues expeditiously in connection with applications to market pharmaceutical products. The United States will continue to monitor recent developments concerning compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products in Ecuador, bearing in mind the discussion of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health in Section I of this report. The United States urges Ecuador to continue public awareness campaigns, and to strengthen its IPR protection and enforcement efforts.
Egypt
Egypt will remain on the Watch List in 2010. Egypt undertook positive efforts in 2009, including acceding to various international IPR treaties, such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty,
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