GOJ MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON COPYRIGHT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002574 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPC - P. QUIGLEY AND S. WILSON USDOC 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/WIEGLER PASS TO USTR - E. SAUMS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR KTIA PREL JO SUBJECT: GOJ MAKING GOOD PROGRESS ON COPYRIGHT SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. FOR USG USE ONLY. NOT FOR RELEASE ON THE INTERNET. REFS: (A) Amman 460; (B) 03 State 341991; (C) 03 Amman 7972 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: GOJ officials report good progress in response to USG requests for copyright and software protections in line with the bilateral Free Trade Agreement. Copyright amendments are expected to be passed by the cabinet and presented to parliament before the end of June. The GOJ is working on a circular to warn government employees not to use unlicensed copies of office and database software. Although GOJ plans to support IPR signal progress, the most difficult hurdle remains: passage of the copyright law in parliament. END SUMMARY. IPR - Jordan Pressing Ahead -------------- ¶2. (U) National Library Director Mahmoun Talhouni recently updated us on copyright law amendments, software protections, and Jordan's accession to WIPO internet treaties. (NOTE: The National Library is the GOJ focal point for intellectual property issues, and the location of an IPR enforcement unit. During the last government change in November, 2003, the National Library Director was placed under the direct control of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Mohammad Halaiqa. END NOTE.) ¶3. (SBU) Econoff repeated the USG call (Reftels B, C) for speedy and full accession to the WIPO "internet treaties" and for amending the copyright law to bring it in line with commitments the GOJ made in the Free Trade Agreement. He reminded Talhouni that the government had committed to passing an amended copyright law before June 30. Econoff also asked if progress had been made on a proposed GOJ circular advising government employees to use only legal copies of software. Talhouni reprised his own efforts since a last review in January, noting that the National Library had completed its contribution two months ago. The amendments now sat in the Prime Minister's office, he said. Talhouni agreed to provide a status report on copyright issues. Jordan Acceded to WIPO "Internet Treaties" -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Talhouni passed two copies of diplomatic notes from the WIPO Director General recording the deposit by Jordan of its instruments of accession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) on January 27 and February 24, respectively. WCT will enter into force with respect to Jordan on April 27 and WPPT on May 24, according to the note. (Post is faxing a copy of the notes to NEA/ARN and EB/TPP/MTA/IPC.) ¶5. (SBU) On March 21, Talhouni reported that copyright law amendments requested by the U.S. last December had been completed and would be presented to parliament before an agreed June 30 deadline. Reviewing a copy of the proposed amendments, Talhouni said that they met all of the requirements laid out in a two-page, USG non-paper (Ref B). (NOTE: Protect source. A copy will be faxed to NEA/ARN and EB once translated. END NOTE.). He said that the amendments were being prepared in the Prime Ministry legislative affairs office for review by the cabinet "sooner than expected." Novel GOJ Circular to Warn Against Using Illegal Software -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In January, DPM Halaiqa had committed to producing and circulating to all government employees an "Administrative Notice" to warn against their use of illegal copies of software. The Ambassador had stressed that the GOJ's "use agreement" with Microsoft was welcome and necessary but not sufficient to cover other types of misuse of office and database software (Ref A). Talhouni reported that no progress had been made on the circular, but a draft text was now being circulated. ¶7. (SBU) Talhouni provided the following text of the draft circular (protect source): BEGIN TEXT OF DRAFT CIRCULAR Due to the position of the government of Jordan on copyright -- in laws prohibiting the making of copies, especially of software -- and in order to abide by agreements with parties and countries, the government must set a good example and apply the copyright laws, including those relating to software. The government urges all departments and ministries to comply fully with copyright laws and regulations, particularly by not using any non-original software. END TEXT Talhouni said that the final circular text could change but that it would remain "in the spirit" of the draft. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: We got just about everything we asked for in the draft copyright law amendments. The remaining hurdle is passage in parliament, which will reconvene in an extraordinary session in June. A telling comment on that last step is the set of GOJ explanatory notes, presumably for use with parliament. Only one mentions the FTA; the others refer to the Berne convention and other international obligations or go unremarked. If Talhouni is an accurate gauge, the GOJ will have a challenge in getting the copyright amendments through parliament. Gnehm