Belarus back on United States’ watch list over “piracy law”

April 27, BPN. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has inserted Belarus into its watch list monitoring intellectual property protection, its 2023 special report says.

Belarus was included over its recently adopted legislation legalizing the unlicensed use of copyrighted material produced in foreign countries that Belarusian authorities deem unfriendly, the report says.

The new law also authorizes Belarusian authorities to collect royalties from copyrighted works, allowing the Alaksandr Łukašenka regime to “directly financially benefit from the unlicensed usage of others’ intellectual property,” the USTR noted.

The US urged Belarusian authorities to rescind the law and to ensure compliance with international obligations, including with respect to copyright and related rights.

The USTR watch list includes 22 US trading partners. In 2016, Belarus was removed from it after demonstrating commitment to improve its intellectual property laws.