Santo Domingo.– 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 lower level watch list that comprises countries which merit bilateral attention to address underlying intellectual property right problems.

Some of the other countries on the list include: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Ukraine and Vietnam.

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.