The US continues to have “serious concern” that the Bahamas has “not yet enacted or implemented” amendments to the Copyright Act that were passed by Parliament last year, even though this nation was removed from its Priority Watch List to Watch List.
In its Special 301 report for this year, which monitors states that allegedly violate copyright and intellectual properties, the US Trade Representative’s Office gave the Bahamas some credit for the amendment, which narrows the scope of the compulsory licensing regime for the reception and transmission of TV programmes and movies “broadcast free over-the-air”.
Acknowledging that this was a “positive step towards compliance” with an agreement the Bahamas struck with Washington through an exchange of letters on October 26 and November 9, 2000, the US Trade Representative’s Office claimed that “the amendment and proposed implementing regulations contain certain deficiencies that we urge the Bahamas to address in the near term”.
