The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has published the Special Report 301 for 2024 on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property.

According to the report, the agency removed Uzbekistan from its watch list. This is because the country is making steady changes to address long-standing problems with the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

“For example, the Customs Code has been amended and the ex officio authority to seize and detain counterfeit import and export products has been established. In addition, Uzbekistan has been paying a high level of political attention to the field of intellectual property. Uzbekistan supports and participates in the work of the Working Group on Intellectual Property within the framework of the “US-Central Asia” Framework Agreement on Trade and Investment,” the report read.

It is noted that this year’s report of the Office of the US Trade Representative was prepared in summary form after research and extensive cooperation with more than 100 trading partners.

Along with Uzbekistan, the organization removed the Dominican Republic from the watch list.

According to the report, the removal of Ukraine from the watch list was delayed due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Also, 7 countries were placed on the watch list. Among the countries included in the list is China. According to the agency, due to this, there are serious risks in the application and protection of intellectual property laws in China. Argentina, Chile, India, Indonesia, Russia and Venezuela were also included in the list.

For reference: The Special 301 Report of the US Foreign Trade Agency is a global review of the state of enforcement and enforcement of intellectual property laws worldwide. It imposes trade barriers on United States companies and products due to intellectual property laws such as copyright, patents, and trademarks in other countries.

Earlier, it was reported that 5 laws in Uzbekistan have been brought into line with the requirements of the World Trade Organization, and most of the changes concern the field of intellectual property. In particular, the patent duty is equalized for citizens of Uzbekistan and non-residents.