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 Thailand's Parliament passed its Geographical Indications Act in September 2003.

In September 2003, the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a circular granting exclusive marketing rights in the UAE for all innovative pharmaceutical products registered in other countries, strengthening IPR protection for pharmaceuticals.

October

Micronesia became party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works on October 7, 2003.

On October 9, 2003, the Paraguayan Government issued Decree 527, creating the Specialized Technical Unit, which conducts anti-piracy investigations and works with prosecutors to seize pirated goods.

In Vietnam, an October 17, 2003 circular on copyright protection for import and export commodities at the border jointly issued by the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Finance provided guidelines for registration to protect most goods subject to copyright according to the law on customs and relevant regulations.

The Korean National Assembly passed legislation in June 2003 granting police powers to the Ministry of Communication and Information's (MOIC) Standing Inspection Team. The law went into effect on October 18, 2003.

Poland became party to the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty on October 21, 2003.

On October 22, 2003, New Zealand passed legislation prohibiting the parallel importation of films, videos and DVDs for the initial nine months after a film's international release.

Botswana became party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on October 30, 2003.

In October 2003, the Czech Republic amended its anti-counterfeiting law in order to implement EU Directives.

In October 2003, the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication submitted a bill for an Internet address space management act to the National Assembly. The Bill is intended to enhance the legal foundation of the domain name dispute resolution committee and prohibit cybersquatting.

Starting in October 2003, there has been improvement in Taiwan's enforcement actions, including night raids and the inclusion of 200 new officers designated for IPR enforcement.

November

The United States became party to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol 1989) on November 2, 2003.