Tue, Oct 08, 2002 page10

• IPR concerns may dominate talks with US officials

  • By Angelia Chen / STAFF REPORTER
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  Officials from Taiwan and the US are scheduled to hold trade talks today, with intellectual-property-rights (IPR) issues expected to dominate the discussions.

  The US delegation, led by Assistant US Trade Representative Joseph Papovich, will meet over the next three days with Bureau of Foreign Trade Director General Wayne Wu (吳文雅) and Deputy Director Francis Liang (梁國新).

  While Taiwan wants to continue talks on free trade, IPR protection, rice imports, the opening of the telecommunication market and the evaluation system for pharmaceutical products will also be discussed, local Chinese-language media reported.

  Wu told the Taipei Times that the government and American representatives will "negotiate" on these issues and "explain" to the US representatives if they feel that Taiwan's standards are not in accordance with WTO requirements.

  Tsai Hui-yan (蔡惠言), Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' IPR office reasserted that tough new amendments to Taiwan's IPR regulations have already been drafted in accordance with WTO requirements.

  One recent change is a proposed amendment that would allow officials to independently prosecute those that manufacture, import and distribute pirated products.

  The new regulation may also include harsher punishment on IPR infringers that include up to seven years in jail and a fine of up to NT$1 million -- double the previous amount.

  "In comparison with the maximum sentence in Japan [three years] and even in America [six years], the punishment in Taiwan is considerably stricter," he said.

  The legislation is expected to be modified after the talks and then sent on to the Cabinet and the Legislature for final approval.

  With 141 piracy cases cracked and products worth NT$7 billion confiscated between January and September of this year, Tsai called the results "fruitful."

  Foreign trade groups, however, still insist that Taiwan needs to further upgrade IPR protection efforts.

  John Eastwood, co-chairman of the European Council of Commerce and Trade IPR committee, said that progress on Taiwan's IPR protection is lagging, even though the nation has declared it will meet WTO standards.

  "I have serious concerns about IPR protection in Taiwan," he said. "The WTO has required its members, including Taiwan, to provide effective IPR. However, the result is that the situation has been downgraded in Taiwan."

  R&D, pharmaceutical and high-technology companies are concerned about Taiwan's poor track record, he said.

  Companies lack confidence in the government's ability to adequately protect products of foreign investors, he said.

  Police and judicial agencies often reject requests to pursue IPR violators unless they see some legalized or notarized documents, such as a power of attorney signed by the chairman of a foreign company, presented by lawyers, which bogs down the progress of IPR protection, Eastwood said.

  American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal said last month that the weak a IPR regime in Taiwan is causing hundreds of million of dollars in damages annually to the recorded music, software and motion-picture industries.

  For your information

  * Exports rose 15.5 percent in August over the same time last year. * Sales to Asian markets in September were up 36.6 percent from a year earlier. * Shipments of computer chips and other electronics, which make up the biggest share of the total, rose 37 percent. * Sales of mobile phones and other telecommunications goods gained 35 percent.
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