The Office of the United States Trade Representative informed that Israel will no longer be a part of the list of partners with no adequate intellectual property rights protection.
What does Special 301 stand for:” According to Special 301 provisions of U.S. trade law, USTR must identify those countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access for persons that rely on intellectual property protection.”
Being a part of the “Watch list” or the” Priority Watch list “under the Special 301 provisions of USTR is a sign of the country`s issues with intellectual property rights protection in all their aspects.
Therefore, when progress is noticed, the country is removed from “Priority Watch List” to” Watch List” and is respectively excluded from the Special 301 Report if it persists in making efforts for resolving the issues and opportune results exist.
After signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the US in 2010, Israel has shown significant improvement of it`s patent system and was, in September 2012, moved from” Priority Watch List” to” Watch List”.
The constructive actions of Israel continue and today, in 2014, as the Ambassador Froman says, the country will be removed from the Special 301 Report Watch List.
