[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4904]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 3, 1994]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

[Docket No. 301-91]

 

Section 304 Determination Acts, Policies and Practices of Brazil 
With Respect To the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property 
Rights; Termination of Investigation and Revocation of Priority Foreign 
Country Status

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice of determinations under section 304 of the Trade Act of 
1974, as amended (``Trade Act''); termination of investigation 
initiated under section 302 of the Trade Act, monitoring under section 
306 of the Trade Act, and revocation of identification under section 
182(c)(1)(A) of the Trade Act.

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SUMMARY: The United States Trade Representative (``USTR'') has made a 
positive determination pursuant to section 304(a)(1)(A)(ii). Since the 
Government of Brazil has undertaken measures to significantly improve 
the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and 
market access for persons relying on intellectual property rights and 
will take additional steps in the future in connection with its 
intention to implement the results of the Uruguay Round of multilateral 
trade negotiations including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Rights, the USTR has decided to terminate this 
investigation and monitor implementation of these measures under 
section 306(a)(2).
    In addition, the USTR has decided to revoke the Government of 
Brazil's identification as a priority foreign country under section 182 
of the Trade Act, as amended, by section 1303 of the Omnibus Trade and 
Competitiveness Act of 1988.

DATES: This decision is effective as of Monday, February 28, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jon Huenemann, Deputy Assistant USTR for Latin America and Caribbean 
Affairs (202) 395-5190, Joseph Papovich, Deputy Assistant USTR for 
Intellectual Property (202) 395-6864, or Thomas Robertson, Assistant 
General Counsel (202) 395-6800, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 28, 1993, the USTR initiated an 
investigation of the Government of Brazil's (Brazil) acts, policies and 
practices concerning the protection and enforcement of intellectual 
property rights under section 302(b)(2)(A) of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. 
2412). See 58 FR 31788 (June 4, 1993). The investigation covered the 
issues that are the basis for Brazil's April 30, 1993, identification 
as a priority foreign country under section 182(a) of the Trade Act (19 
U.S.C. 2242): (1) several areas in the patent law; (2) failure to 
provide copyright protection for software as a literary work, too short 
a term of protection for software and penalties for copyright 
infringement that are insufficient to deter piracy; (3) inadequate 
protection for trade secrets; (4) no protection for semiconductor masks 
works (layout designs); and (5) significant levels of copyright piracy 
and trademark counterfeiting. The original deadline for determinations 
under section 304(a)(1) of the Trade Act with respect to the 
investigation was November 28, 1993, but this was extended until 
February 28, 1994. See 58 FR 64351 (December 6, 1993).
    In the context of the five rounds of discussions that took place 
during the investigation, Brazil indicated that it has undertaken and 
will undertake as part of its domestic reform efforts a number of 
actions to improve the protection of intellectual property in Brazil, 
and to provide greater market access for products relying on the 
protection of intellectual property. These include improvements in the 
areas of protection for trademarks, semiconductor mask works (layout 
designs), patents and computer programs; market access for computer 
programs; and improvements in the enforcement of intellectual property 
rights, including efforts regarding the importation of pirated and 
counterfeit goods and the penalties for infringement of intellectual 
property rights. Moreover, since initiation of this investigation, the 
Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations has been successfully 
completed. Brazil has stated its intention to present the results of 
those negotiations for the approval of its Congress, including the 
provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights.
    On the basis of the measures that Brazil has undertaken and will 
take in the future, the USTR has decided to terminate this 
investigation. The USTR will monitor Brazil's implementation of these 
measures under section 306(a)(2) of the Trade Act. In addition, 
pursuant to section 182(c)(1)(A) of the Trade Act, the USTR has decided 
that the information received warrants revocation of Brazil's 
identification as a priority foreign country.
Irving A. Williamson,
Chairman, Section 301 Committee.
[FR Doc. 94-4904 Filed 3-2-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M