Special 301 Report: Ukraine No Longer ‘Priority Foreign Country’

Ukraine is no longer highlighted as the Priority Foreign Country, designation for the worst offenders, in the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) latest Special 301 report, evaluating IPR protection in the United States’ trading partners on a yearly basis.

In 2013, Ukraine was listed as the top offender mainly for copyright-related issues such as the widespread use of illegal software by the government; nontransparent system governing copyright collectives responsible for collecting and distributing royalties to rights holders; and failure to implement an effective system to combat online piracy.

The USTR launched an investigation in 2013 ultimately finding Ukraine’s copyright acts, policies and practices unfavorable for the U.S. business activity in Ukraine. However, due to the current political situation in Ukraine, the U.S. will not take any further action for the time being.

Russia has been on the Priority Watch List, the next category down, for 18 straight years, as a result of the “continued, significant challenges to IPR protection and enforcement”.

Prepared by: Maya Kryvoshei

For more information, please contact ukraine@petosevic.com.

Source: USTR 2014 Special 301 Report