The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactures of America (PhRMA) has asked the US government to maintain the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the Priority Special 301 watchlist of countries that do not provide adequate intellectual property protection. Intellectual and industrial piracy rank very high among the list of concerns of American companies doing business in the Middle East. Recently, the UAE was commended for legislation and action taken in trying to curb intellectual piracy. The International Intellectual Property Alliance then recommended to the US trade representative that the UAE be removed from the Priority Special 301 watchlist.
Intellectual piracy (the production, sale and acquisition of illegal copies of computer software, CDs, CD-ROMs and video films) has declined in the UAE from 60 percent in 1997 to approximately 54 percent, close to the European level. However, PhRMA indicated that the UAE should be kept on the list despite statements by the Gulf country that it will amend its patent law before 2000 to meet WTO requirements.
The existing law, which was adopted in 1992, specifically exempts medicines and pharmaceutical compounds from product patent protection. According to PhRMA, whose representatives said that although the UAE health ministry is sincere in its efforts to combat pirated products, flaws in the structure of the law mean that unauthorized "copies" of internationally patented pharmaceuticals could be developed, authorized and sold, under pressure from local and regional manufacturers of generic products.