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Intellectual property rights well-protected in the Czech Republic

(This article expired 05.06.2015.)

Every year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative releases its Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection of intellectual property rights. For the second year in a row, the Czech Republic is not listed in the report among the countries where protection of intellectual property rights is considered an issue.

The Czech Republic has been a host to numerous film crews shooting many Hollywood blockbusters and other internationally acclaimed films. The USTR decision reflects the fact that the Czech Republic is not only a reliable contributor to film production but also a responsible consumer protecting the intellectual property rights that are still frequently violated in some parts of the world.

The Czech government has recently stepped up its fight against the production and distribution of pirate copies of films, music and other forms of art and has managed to greatly improve the situation in comparison to several years ago. Being excluded from the list sends a clear signal to potential US investors and other US businesses.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative in cooperation with other US government agencies reviewed a total of 77 US trading partner countries and placed 42 of them on the Priority Watch List, Watch List or Section 306 monitoring list. You can read more about the report on the USTR website.