US PRAISES PAKISTAN'S CONCRETE RESULTS

USINFO reports that the US Trade Representative, Rob Portman, has announced that the US has decided that Pakistan is eligible for preferential tariffs under the Generalized System of Preferences. A group of IP owners had argued that Pakistan was not doing enough to protect intellectual property to be eligible, but Portman has announced that the US is satisfied in particular with steps that Pakistan has taken against optical disk piracy. In particular, Portman has praised the “concrete results, including destruction of pirated optical disks, plant closures, arrests, and confiscations of imported disks" that have resulted from Pakistan’s enforcement efforts.

The IPKat says that it’s nice to hear the US satisfied with enforcement measures for a change.