Page:Special 301 Report 2006.pdf/7

 Gorbushka market resulted in migration of vendors to the nearby Rubin Trade Center. Industry reports infringement problems at newer markets on the outskirts of Moscow, including Tsaritsinio and Mitino. A raid against the Tsaritsinio market in January 2005 reportedly resulted in the commencement of five criminal investigations.

Tri-Border Region (Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil). The Tri-Border Region of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil has a longstanding reputation as a hotbed of piracy and counterfeiting of all kinds of products. The U.S. Government is funding a training project through which U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials will train prosecutors, police, and customs officials from the Tri-Border Region to combat intellectual property crime.

Stand Center, "25 de Marco" Shopping Center, and Promocenters (Sao Paulo, Brazil). In late 2005, over 1,500 Brazilian police and other law enforcement personnel reportedly raided these huge, well-known markets. Acknowledging that the effect on sales of pirated and counterfeit products from such raids is temporary, local enforcement and fiscal officials have pledged continued actions.

Tepito, Plaza Meave, Eje Central, Lomas Verdes, and Pericoapa Bazaar (Mexico City), CAPFU (Puebla, Mexico), and San Juan de Dios (Guadalajara, Mexico). An estimated 50,000 vendors sell IPR products in Mexico's ubiquitous, unregulated street markets. Past police raids on such markets have sometimes been met with violent resistance, requiring large contingents of security personnel. Video game right holders reported raids on Pericoapa Bazaar in May and December 2005, as well as a raid at Plaza Meave near Mexico City in December.

Transshipment and Transiting of Goods

"Transshipment" and "in transit goods" pose growing IPR problems. Transshipped goods and in transit goods enter the customs territory of a country intended to be sent to another destination; such goods are sometimes "diverted" for consumption in the customs territory through which they are shipped. Transshipped and in transit goods pose a high risk for counterfeiting and piracy because customs procedures may be used to disguise the true country of origin of the goods or to enter goods into customs territories where border enforcement for transshipped or in transit goods is known to be weak. Transshipment or in transit goods are significant problems in Belize, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Paraguay, Ukraine and United Arab Emirates, among others. The United States urges these countries to provide stronger border enforcement of intellectual property rights. The United States pledges to work together with these countries to improve their IPR border enforcement systems.

Controlling Optical Media Production

Over the past year, some trading partners, such as Ukraine, Brazil, Pakistan, and the Philippines have taken important steps toward implementing much-needed controls on optical media production in order to address and prevent future pirate activity. However, other countries urgently need to implement controls or improve existing inadequate measures. Such countries include India, Thailand, and Russia, which have not made sufficient progress in this regard. In