2003 SPECIAL 301 NOTIFICATION DELIVERED

UNCLAS KUWAIT 001911 SIPDIS DEPT PASS FOR USTR JBUNTIN STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND EB/TPP/MTA/IPC USDOC FOR 4520/MAC/AME/DGUGLIELMI TREASURY FOR US CUSTOMS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR KU USTR SUBJECT: 2003 SPECIAL 301 NOTIFICATION DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 111502 ¶B. KUWAIT 01780 During a May 3 meeting with Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Shaykh Mohammed Al-Sabah, the Ambassador shared the 2003 Special 301 public announcement (Ref A) and urged the Minister to intensify efforts to improve intellectual property rights protection and enforcement in Kuwait (Ref B). Post also delivered the Special 301 excerpt to Shaykh Ahmed Al-Sabah, Kuwait's Minister of Information, and the complete text of the report to Shaykha Rasha Al-Sabah, Director of the Intellectual Property Department at the Ministry of Information. Post plans to use the release of the Special 301 report to make a new push for IPR reform in Kuwait later this month. JONES