The U.S. has removed the Philippines from its "priority watchlist" of countries that do not enforce properly intellectual property rights (IPR), both countries announced on Feb. 16. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said this announcment showed her government's progress in going after pirated movies, video and audio discs and computer software. Arroyo said that this new development would encourage more people to invest in software development.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a statement saying that it had upgraded the Philippines from the "priority watchlist" to the ordinary watchlist.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
