WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regardin United States of America-Section 211 of the Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 1999

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The Office of the United States Trade Representative ("USTR") is providing notice of the establishment and composition of a dispute settlement panel under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization ("WTO") requested by the European Communities and their Member States (the "EC"). The EC has asked that the panel examine whether section 211 of the "Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998" [sic] is consistent with U.S. obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPs Agreement"). The statutory provision to which the EC refers is section 211 of the Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 1999, as included in Pub. L. 105-277 ("Section 211"). Section 211 concerns the registration or enforcement, by Cuban entities or their successors in interest, of trademarks, trade-names, or commercial names that are substantially similar to trademarks, trade-names, or commercial names associated with businesses confiscated without compensation by the Cuban government, without the consent of the previous owners of the trademarks, trade-names or commercial names.