The US government may consider removing Taiwan from the Special 301 Priority Watchlist if a revised version of the Copyright Law (著作權法) is passed by the Legislative Yuan in the coming months, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) said yesterday.
"Passage by the Legislative Yuan in the coming months of a strengthened Copyright Law would be likely to have a major impact on whether Taiwan remains on the Special 301 Priority Watchlist," AmCham said in a statement.
Last month Taiwan remained on Washington's "Special 301" priority watch list, which monitors violations of intellectual property rights (IPR), for the fourth year in a row.
Fourteen other economies, including the entire EU, join Taiwan on the list, and they are all subject to trade sanctions by Washington if the situation does not improve.
"US officials said it is possible that a mid-cycle review of Taiwan's status could be held, and that in light of other progress seen in improving Taiwan's intellectual property rights protection, Taiwan could finally be removed from the Priority Watchlist if the legislation is enacted," AmCham said in the statement.
An AmCham delegation is now visiting Washington for its 2004 Washington Doorknock mission.
The delegation, led by AmCham president Andrea Wu (王吳小珍), is expected to call on 25 government agencies, congressional offices and think tanks during the three-day mission.
The Legislative Yuan passed the revised Copyright Law in June last year after making a total of 53 changes to a draft originally proposed by the Executive Yuan. The amended law also empowers the police to initiate arrests of counterfeiters without first receiving a complaint from those whose rights have been violated.
But the amended law is considered by the US to be in need of further revision, AmCham said.
The original bill drafted by the Executive Yuan was seen as acceptable, but it was watered down substantially in the Legislative Yuan in the final days before the bill came to a vote, AmCham added.
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