CROATIAN REACTION TO DEMARCHE ON TRADE IN

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001893 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR HR SUBJECT: CROATIAN REACTION TO DEMARCHE ON TRADE IN PIRATED AND COUNTERFEIT GOODS REF: STATE 214134 ¶1. Econoff discussed reftel demarche with Predraga Boic- Ljubic, Assistant Minister for International Trade, on October 22. We emphasized the U.S. desire to work cooperatively with the GOC to fight a common scourge, and noting that the USG has provided assistance to Croatian Customs through the SECI program and to the ministries and intellectual property office through DOC's CLDP (Commercial Law Development Program). Boic-Ljubic agreed that Croatia, as a relatively high-wage country, had to protect its intellectual property, and noted the generally low level of copyright and trademark infringement. (Comment: The activism of a relatively strong domestic music industry and national industrial champions has translated into a fairly low level of pirated products on domestic markets.) She said that Croatian manufacturers were suffering from counterfeits themselves. As an example, fake Vegeta seasoning and Faks dish detergent were being produced in Bosnia and sold in Bosnia and Croatia. ¶2. Boic-Ljubic noted the government was working on a new Trade Law and writing regulations for the new Consumer Protection Law, where they will closely examine the issue of imported counterfeits The Ministry was also arranging conferences and a public education campaign to urge people not to buy cheap fakes. Econoff noted that the Director of the Office of International Programs for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission might be coming to Zagreb and offered to help facilitate a meeting. DELAWIE NNNN