On April 28, 2017, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a press release announcing that it has released its annual "Special 301" report on the adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in trading partners around the world.
In the release, USTR explains that "The “Special 301” Report is an annual review of the global state of IPR protection and enforcement. After a review of more than 100 countries, USTR placed 34 of them on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.”
Significant actions in the 2017 report include:
- Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela are listed on the Priority Watch List (PWL)
- Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are currently on the Watch List
- USTR will conduct Out-of-Cycle reviews on Columbia and Kuwait, Tajikistan will also be reviewed, but is not currently listed
Spain and Pakistan had their Out-of-Cycle reviews closed out as both countries have undertaken IPR improvements.
The full text of the press release is available here:
