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 software and business software to audiovisual works, including movies and television programs. The United States encourages Brunei to redouble its enforcement efforts against pirated and counterfeit products, including by granting ex officio authority to law enforcement officials, conducting targeted raids, seizing pirated and counterfeit goods, educating the business community, pursuing criminal prosecutions, and imposing deterrent penalties. To strengthen its legal infrastructure for IPR protection and enforcement, Brunei should also take the necessary steps to update its IPR laws and regulations so that these address fully the challenges of e-commerce and transnational intellectual property crime. Such steps should include enactment of long-pending amendments to the copyright decree, the adoption of measures to strengthen enforcement authority, and the allocation of necessary resources to IPR protection and enforcement. The United States looks forward to engaging with Brunei on these and other issues.

Colombia

Colombia remains on the Watch List. The United States commends Colombia for acknowledging the importance of IPR by including IPR protection in its National Development Plan. Colombia has taken steps to address its patent backlog by hiring additional examiners and by digitizing its patent database. Colombia has also continued its efforts to combat IPR infringement through enforcement actions, and has improved not only coordination among agencies responsible for IPR enforcement, but also cooperation of such agencies with rights holder organizations. The United States remains concerned, however, that the lack of additional resources and training continue to hamper enforcement efforts. The United States encourages Colombia to develop an effective system to address patent issues expeditiously in connection with applications to market pharmaceutical products. The United States also encourages Colombia to develop a mechanism to improve enforcement against IPR piracy over the Internet, including through the identification of effective enforcement procedures for dealing with such infringement. Optical disc piracy also remains a concern and should be addressed. The United States looks forward to working with Colombia to address these and other issues in the coming year.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica remains on the Watch List. Costa Rica enacted legislation to implement its commitments under the CAFTA-DR last year, and made progress by reviving an interagency IPR task force, collecting enforcement statistics, and taking steps to address its patent backlog. However, questions remain about Costa Rica's commitment to effective protection and enforcement of IPR, and overall IPR enforcement remains inadequate. The United States urges Costa Rica to address the relevant authorities' unwillingness to initiate prosecutions for copyright and other violations. The United States also urges Costa Rica to make combating IPR violations a higher priority, and in particular, to devote more resources to enforcement efforts, to prosecute cases against criminal IPR infringers, and to impose deterrent penalties. The United States will continue to monitor these and other issues relevant to Costa Rica's implementation of its international obligations and of its commitments under CAFTA-DR.