Ukraine named top violator of copyrights

The US said Monday it would keep trade sanctions on Ukraine as the worst violator of copyright protection, while citing China and dozens of other countries for failing to stem piracy. A report by the US Trade Representative's office cited 52 countries among 85 surveyed for shortcomings in protection of intellectual property. The annual report highlights problems with protection of copyrights -- ranging from counterfeit consumer goods and pharmaceuticals to piracy of music CDs and Hollywood films on DVDs. Ukraine remained the only country designated as "priority foreign country" under the "Special 301" report review named for a section of US trade law. Another 14 countries and the EU were on a "priority watch list" for shortcomings in enforcing intellectual property protection. And 34 others were on a "watch list" under Section 301. China and Paraguay were cited under another trade act, Section 306, that calls for special monitoring of agreements to correct problems.