Ukraine, which led a list drawn up by the U.S. Trade Representative's office (USTR) as a country that does not ensure there is the effective legal protection of intellectual property rights, could face a huge outflow of foreign investments, Executive Director of the Ukraine Audiovisual Rights Management Association Roman Semeshko said.
“The most terrible thing (about naming Ukraine as the biggest pirate) is that foreign investments will completely leave the country,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to ARMA’s executive director, it is unprofitable to make investments in a country that does not protect copyrights.
Semeshko noted that within 2-3 weeks after U.S. Trade Representative’s office report, a decision to apply relative sanctions against Ukraine should be made.
“$1 billion of sanctions could be applied to Ukraine for exporting (pirated) goods,” he added.
He said the level of protection of copyrights in Ukraine is very low, the law covering the sphere has not been reviewed since 2003 and does not take into account amendments in the international law regarding intellectual property rights.
Semeshko also stressed that the significant number of organizations that collect fees for distributing copyrighted work in Ukraine negatively influences the market, while world practice shows that just one rights holder organization should work in each sphere.
As reported, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in its annual 2013 Special 301 Report named Ukraine a “Priority Foreign Country (PFC), in the bottom-tier of countries around the world in protecting US patents, copyrights and other forms of intellectual property rights.
In 2001-2005 Ukraine lost its eligibility for benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which foresees the cancellation of import duties on many Ukrainian goods.
