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Tribune News Network
Doha
The US has added Saudi Arabia and the UAE on its Watch List for inadequately protecting US intellectual property rights.
In its 2018 Special 301 Report, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has included Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the Watch List for the first time.
The Watch List classifies those countries, which are facing certain deficiencies in the enforcement of IP rights as identified in the report. The Watch List currently hosts 25 states.
The report reviews the state of IP protection and enforcement in US trading partners around the world, identifying foreign countries"that fail to provide adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement for US inventors, creators, brands, manufacturers and service providers."
The report includes Saudi Arabia for an alleged deterioration in IP protection for pharmaceutical products.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has granted marketing approvals for domestic companies to produce generic versions of pharmaceutical products, which are under patent protection either in Saudi Arabia or in the GCC. Allegedly, these market approvals were granted, despite innovators' data being protected under Saudi Arabia's laws against unfair commercial use.
The report suggests that these approvals conflict with Saudi Arabia's domestic laws and raise significant questions about the transparency of marketing approvals and predictability of patent protection in Saudi Arabia. A further concern raised in the report was the alleged continued use of licenced software by the Saudi government.
For the UAE, the report's main points for concern include recent policy changes that may weaken IP protection for pharmaceutical products; lack of a mechanism to allow copyright licensing and royalty payments; and high trademark filing fees that are cost-prohibitive.
The report recognises that some UAE enforcement authorities (i.e. Dubai) seize and destroy counterfeit goods, however it highlights that significant copyright piracy and trademark infringement concerns remain.
Much like Saudi Arabia, the report calls out the UAE for allowing the domestic manufacture of generic versions of pharmaceutical products, which are still under patent protection in the US.
Other concerns raised with regards to the UAE include the lack of IP infringement prosecutions; a lack of permanent staff solely dedicated to counterfeit enforcement; a lack of enforcement action without specific, written complaints from the right holders; and a lack of transparency and available information related to raids and seizures of pirated and counterfeit goods.
