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 enforcement issues, and to provide training and technical assistance for that purpose.

IPR problems centered on two recent legislative changes that have had the effect of weakening patent protection in Singapore with respect to compulsory licensing and government use. Moreover, the U.S. looks to Singapore to implement its TRIPs obligations in this area by January 1, 1996. A recent exchange of letters with Singapore is expected to address these concerns. The inadequate protection of textile designs in Singapore remains a problem.

Many U.S. firms refrained from investing or conducting business in South Africa during the anti-apartheid sanctions period. Some of these firms are now blocked from using the trademarks they had registered in South Africa because South African firms have challenged these registrations under a law which permits the expungement of a registered mark not used for more than five years. In addition, in enforcing the Trade Mark Act of 1963, South Africa has not provided protection against the pirating of well-known international marks. The U.S. welcomes the expressed willingness of senior South African officials to resolve these issues, and recognizes that effective protection of intellectual property rights plays a key role in maintaining equitable relations with its trading partners. To determine whether South Africa will have made progress in correcting these shortcomings, and if not, what next steps need to be taken, the U.S. will conduct an out-of-cycle review by September 15.

Thailand enacted a new copyright law in November, 1994 that addressed many U.S. concerns. As a result, Thailand was moved from the priority watch to the watch list in November. Certain U.S. concerns remain, however. They include: the lack of a TRIPs-consistent patent law; the need to ensure that deterrent penalties are imposed on convicted pirates, including the establishment of IPR courts and that the software provision in the 1994 copyright law not be implemented in such a way as to prejudice U.S. companies, particularly with respect to government use and/or the decompilation of software.

The 1994 special 301 review lowered Taiwan from the priority watch to the watch list, recognizing significant progress made by Taiwan. Outstanding U.S. concerns include: 1) inadequate retroactive copyright protection; 2) lack of protection for integrated circuit layout designs and 3) lack of adequate protection for trade secrets. Taiwan also needs to complete an understanding with the U.S. establishing reciprocal patent and trademark filing benefits.

In September 1994, the UAE moved decisively against the production and sale of pirated videocassettes and sound recordings, and, more recently, has