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Kiev disappointed by US Trade Rep report
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, May 3 – A top Ukrainian official expressed “disappointment” after U.S. authorities recently named the country as having the worst record in protecting intellectual property.

A report by the U.S. Trade Representative said Kiev had failed to fight internet piracy and the use of illegal software. The U.S warned Ukraine it may lose trade benefits if it fails to improve the situation.

Kostiantyn Hryshchenko, deputy prime minister and a former foreign minister, said the U.S. authorities apparently “ignored” efforts by the Ukrainian government in enforcing intellectual property rights.

"Of course we will work with the United States and other nations in this area but I have to say today's disappointing decision is not conducive to such cooperation," Hryshchenko said in a statement.

Hryshchenko said Ukraine has been working on improving the situation.

"Just this past month we have closed two internet portals used to distribute unlicensed content and we are introducing into the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) two separate bills that will, among other things, increase penalties for copyright infringement," Hryshchenko said.

He said the government has also empowered the Prosecutor General to oversee observance of intellectual property rights in government ministries and departments.

There is also UAH100 million (USD12.35 million) set aside to ensure all state-owned computers operate legal software.

Hryshchenko said that President Viktor Yanukovych has “vowed to personally supervise” Ukraine's war on piracy as part of a long-term strategy to nurture and grow innovative technology industries.

He said Ukraine will ask the U.S. to remove Ukraine from the black list six months from now.

The US Trade Representative accused Ukraine of failing to fight internet piracy and the use of illegal software.

Such software was even being used by government agencies, according to the report.

In the USTR's annual 2013 Special 301 Special Report, Ukraine is, uniquely, dubbed a "Priority Foreign Country" - the USTR's rarely used, bottom-tier judgment of how countries around the world are protecting US patents, copyrights and other forms of intellectual property rights (IPR).

"I regret that the government of Ukraine has earned the first new Priority Foreign Country designation in 11 years due to its severely deteriorating climate for IPR protection and market access, and call upon that government to reverse recent backsliding and swiftly resolve the problems identified today," said acting US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis in a statement.

"Rogue" groups with links to the Ukrainian government collect music royalties, falsely claiming they are authorized to do so, the report says. There is no remedial action by the government, which itself is a leading user of unauthorized software, it adds.

An IPR "action plan" agreed with Kiev in 2010, the report says, has done little to reverse the deteriorating situation.

"Ukraine has become perceived as a safe haven for online piracy enterprises serving other markets," it notes.
Ukraine's designation as a Priority Foreign Country enables Washington to pursue sanctions under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act - either directly or through the World Trade Organization. (tl/ez)




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