Malaysia Removed From 2012 Special 301 List

23 August 2012

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual Special 301 Report

on the adequacy and effectiveness of US trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

“This year’s Special 301 Report is more significant than ever in light of recent US government data showing that IP-intensive industries support as many as 40 million American jobs and up to 60% of US exports. When trading partners don’t protect IPR, they threaten those critical jobs and exports,” said United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk. “I am pleased to congratulate the Governments of Spain and Malaysia on the progress that resulted in their removal from the Special 301 Lists. On the other hand,

I call on the Government of Ukraine to address the serious concerns that have caused us to put Ukraine back on the Priority Watch List.”

The Special 301 Report provides a means for the United States to promote the protection and enforcement of IPR. In the Report, USTR announced that Malaysia has been removed from the Watch List after making significant strides, including passing copyright amendments that strengthen copyright protection, stepped-up IPR enforcement, and promulgating regulations to protect pharmaceutical test data. Ukraine is being moved to the Priority Watch List from the Watch List in light of serious and growing

concerns relating to counterfeiting and rampant piracy, including piracy over the Internet.

The Special 301 Report is an annual review of the global state of IPR protection and enforcement, which USTR conducts pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

USTR reviewed 77 trading partners for this year’s Special 301 Report, and placed 40 countries on the Priority Watch List, Watch List, or the Section 306 monitoring list.

Trading partners on the Priority Watch List present the most significant concerns regarding insufficient IPR protection or enforcement, or otherwise limited market access for persons relying on IPR protection. Thirteen countries – Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela – are on the Priority Watch List. These countries will be the subject of particularly intense bilateral engagement during the coming year.

Twenty-seven trading partners are on the Watch List, also meriting bilateral attention to address underlying IPR problems, including Belarus, Brunei, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Recently, the Commerce Department issued a report entitled Intellectual Property and the US Economy:

Industries in Focus. The report identifies the economic sectors that generate IP, as well as the jobs, exports, and wage premiums those sectors support. The study also shows that IP is a key driver of the US economy: IP-intensive industries create 27.1 million jobs and indirectly support another 12.9 million jobs. All told, nearly 30 percent of all US jobs are directly or indirectly attributable to IP-intensive industries.