Dominican Republic has again been included in an annual US list of the world's worst intellectual property rights (IPR) violators.

Dominican Republic is among 33 countries on a watch list that comprises countries which merit bilateral attention to address underlying intellectual property right problems.

In a statement, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said countries should continue to observe copyright rules even amid a global economic downturn.

The "Special 301" report also underlined "continuing serious concerns" in China and Russia, both of which were maintained on the blacklist despite "some evidence of improvement" on copyright protection in both countries.

"I am particularly troubled by reports that Chinese officials are urging more lenient enforcement of IPR laws, motivated by the financial crisis and the need to maintain jobs. China needs to strengthen its approach to IPR protection and enforcement, not weaken it," Kirk said.

President Barack Obama's administration, according to the report, was also seeking improvements to the intellectual property regime in Russia.

What is Intellectual property? - here is small description from Wikipedia

Intellectual property (IP) are legal property rights over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law.^[1] Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets.

The majority of intellectual property rights provide creators of original works economic incentive to develop and share ideas through a form of temporary monopoly.