Taiwan Saturday welcomed a US decision to remove the island from the so-called Special 301 watch list of countries failing to protect intellectual property rights, reported dpa. "This shows our efforts to stamp out violation of intellectual property rights have borne fruit," said Wang Mei-hua, director of the Intellectual Property Office under the Economics Ministry. She said the government will do all it can to uphold protection of IPRs in Taiwan. Her comment came after US Trade Representative's Office (USTR) announced Friday the removal of Taiwan from its watch list, which warns countries of possible trade sanction retaliation if they fail to protect intellectual property. US trade spokesman Sean Spicer said in Washington Taiwan has come a long way over the past eight years to improve serious IPR infringements on the island. "In 2001, USTR called Taiwan 'a haven for pirates.' Today, Taiwan has strengthened its enforcement, strengthened its laws, and demonstrated a commitment to becoming a haven for innovation and creativity," said Spicer in a statement. He said the decision to remove Taiwan from the list is the result of an out-of-cycle review announced in the 2008 Special 301 report issued in April last year. The review concluded that Taiwan made further progress in improving its overall intellectual property rights enforcement climate in 2008. Measures adopted by the island included establishment of a special intellectual property court, further efforts to improve implementation of the action plan for protection on school campuses, and progress toward passage of amendments to the copyright law. He, however, said the United States would continue to monitor Taiwan's efforts in upholding intellectual property protection, including enactment of pending legislation to fight internet piracy, and tightening customs and border checks against import and export of pirated products.
