Estonia to tighten control of intellectual property

TALLINN (BNS) - The Estonian government, after hearing an expert
report on the protection of intellectual property Jan. 18, decided to
take steps to make work in this field more effective.

Prime Minister Mart Laar said the situation here is not very rosy,
but that the expert panel gave numerous recommendations on how to
bring the protection of intellectual property into line with the
country's international commitments.

Laar said the work done in this field does not come up to
expectations and does not meet international requirements, and that
in order to change this, several laws need to be amended.

Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves admitted that piracy-related
shortcomings may become a stumbling block in Estonia's integration
into the European Union.

As Ilves sees it, intellectual property protection laws must be
improved to cause both administrative and public pressure on
offenders.

The government charged the Culture Ministry to draft together with
the Interior, Economic, Finance and Justice ministries by the end of
March concrete proposals for changes in existing laws to reinforce
the protection of intellectual property.