May 4, 2004

ROMANIA REMAINS ON SPECIAL 301 LIST

In accordance with Section 182 of the U.S. Trade Act 0f 1974, commonly known as "Special 301," the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) conducts an annual review of practices of our trading partners to determine if intellectual property rights (IPR) are adequately protected and if fair market access is provided U.S. persons who depend upon intellectual property protection.

On May 3, 2004, USTR Robert Zoellnick announced that Romania would remain on the Special 301 Watch List, where it has been since 1998. USTR uses a "watch list" to indicate that a country does not provide an adequate level of protection or enforcement of intellectual property rights.

In keeping Romania on the Watch List, the USTR noted that IPR enforcement did not improve in Romania in 2003. A persistent lack of understanding of the importance of IPR piracy and its social and economics effects exists throughout Romania. High levels of piracy continued across all sectors, optical disc piracy grew, and poor border enforcement led to a surge in imports of pirated goods. The situation was worsened by a lack of government resources dedicated to enforcement. Prosecution of IPR violators was infrequent, too many cases were dismissed for "lack of social harm," and in the rare cases which resulted in a conviction, there were no deterrent penalties - criminal fines were relatively light, and no one convicted served jail time.

To be removed from the Watch List, Romania must strengthen its enforcement efforts, including increasing the number of raids on illegal activities, improving and increasing prosecution of IPR crime, handing down sentences that effectively deter criminal behavior, and improving border enforcement by providing government officials ex officio authority to inspect and seize counterfeit goods. The Government of Romania must make enforcement of IPR law a priority, and establish and enforce tough anti-piracy standards.