IPR UPDATE -- GREECE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 000529

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD GR KIPR
SUBJECT: IPR UPDATE -- GREECE

REF: A. STATE 24592

B. STATE 30790

SUMMARY
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1. (U) Post does not object to Greece's inclusion on the
special mention list, but does not believe the IPR problems
merit inclusion on any higher level of the Special 301 list.
The Greek Government continues its efforts to protect
intellectual property and fight piracy. Existing national
legislation was bolstered with the ratification by parliament
of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and
Phonograms Treaty (WPPT),and Greece is in full compliance
with all EU IPR directives. The primary concern, however, is
that despite a range of tough laws, courts are too lenient in
their treatment of IPR violators. While television piracy is
down significantly, piracy of audio-visual works, business
software and video games remain problems. END SUMMARY

BACKGROUND AND IP CLIMATE
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2. (U) Intellectual property problems have long plagued
Greece, resulting in its being identified for special
mention, although not inclusion, on the Special 301 Watch
List this year. Greece was listed as a Special 301 country
in 1994, but as a result of the Greek Government's
significant progress in protecting intellectual property
rights and in fighting piracy, it was removed in 2003.


3. (U) In September 2002, the GOG became the first EU
country to implement the European Copyright Directive
(2001/29/EC),thus harmonizing Greek law with the content of
the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and
Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). Furthermore, in September 2003, the
Greek Parliament ratified the WIPO Treaties (Greek law
3184/2003) thus incorporating the treaties into national law.
As pursuant to the Greek Constitution, an international
convention ratified by the parliament cannot be modified by
future legislation or other government decrees. The
government is about to amend Greece,s main IPR protection
law (2121/1993) by incorporating EU Directives 48/2004
(Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights) and 84/2001
(Paintings surveillance rights),both due for implementation
by early 2006 (4/1/2006 and 1/1/2006 respectively).


4. (U) Despite these legislative efforts piracy does
continue, however. The music and software industries bear
the brunt of IPR violations in Greece, although audiovisual
piracy also occurs. Unlicensed sharing of a licensed copy
among multiple computers is the largest problem for the
software industry. For optical media piracy, Greece is not
believed to be the source of the majority of pirated CDs,
VCDs, and DVDs being sold in the country, but rather a link
in the chain of an increasingly regional copying and
distribution network. Hard figures on the levels of piracy
in Greece is difficult to obtain, and widely cited figures
are often little better than educated guesses. The GoG does
not maintain official statistics on piracy.


5. (U) According to the Greek office of the Motion Picture
Association, EPOE, television piracy has fallen from 70
percent of all broadcasts a decade ago to less than 2 percent
today. However, the piracy rate for optical media remains
between 10-20 percent of the market. The sight of immigrants
selling copied CDs and DVDs on street corners and cafes in
most major cities is commonplace. The local representative
of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries
(IFPI) estimates that 1 in 3 CDs sold in Greece is pirated
(the greater part of pirated music product offered for sale
seems to be work by Greek pop singers). Although the
Business Software Alliance (BSA) has publicly acknowledged
the GOG's achievements in combating software piracy in 2002,
BSA Hellas notes that Greece still has the highest rate of
software piracy in the EU, estimated at 63 percent of the
programs sold.

Enforcement remains problematic
--------------

6. (U) The GoG remains concerned about piracy issues, but as
a relatively poor EU nation, Greece does not always have the
resources available to effectively police its IPR
legislation. Additionally, as a country that does not rely
heavily on IPR protection for its own products, it lacks a
fully-developed comprehension of the economic impact of
piracy. Understanding of IPR issues among the population as
a whole is low. Despite legislation that provides for heavy
civil and criminal penalties against pirates, enforcement
remains spotty. Getting an IPR violator sanctioned,
criminally or civilly, in any meaningful way is still
time-consuming and difficult. The courts continue to treat
IPR violations as nuisance crimes and almost never hand out
punishment severe enough to act as a deterrent.

7. (U) Greece's Intellectual Property Organization (OPI),
which is responsible for drafting Greece's copyright laws,
continues to push for more stringent anti-piracy efforts,
especially in educating the Greek population about what
constitutes piracy and the economic costs that piracy incurs.
It hopes to be allowed to introduce short
IPR-familiarization courses in middle schools, alongside
introductory computer education courses. OPI is also
attempting to get IPR courses made mandatory for judges and
police cadets, in an effort to promote understanding of IPR
as a first step in increased enforcement.

COMMENTS ON INDUSTRY SUBMISSION
--------------

8. (U) Business Software: Post has no additional
information regarding industry submission.


9. (U) Music Piracy: Music piracy is clearly a vibrant,
going concern in Greece. Any visitor to central Athens will
receive multiple offers to buy pirated CDs from roving
individuals. Direct law enforcement control of these
individuals engaging in piracy is low. Furthermore, in the
event that one of these vendors is arraigned in court, even
repeat offenders often receive fines well below those
established by law, or suspended jail terms without a fine.
Public sympathy for these perpetrators who are &just trying
to get by8 is high.


9. (U) However, Post questions the inclusion of claims
regarding the nationality of the malfeasants, or their links
to criminal syndicates. These claims, frequently repeated
by the Greek media, local anti-piracy organizations, and even
some GoG officials, have not been documented by law
enforcement agencies. In no case do they help combat the
problem. Also, the suggestion that piracy is the direct
result of lax State enforcement of immigration policy has not
been documented or brought to Post,s attention.


10. (U) Entertainment software piracy: Post has no
additional information regarding industry submission.


11. (U) Audiovisual piracy: It is clear that audiovisual
piracy is occurring in Greece, although at a level below that
of music piracy. Despite repeated requests to the industry
and its local representatives, no figures or methodology for
calculating industry losses have been provided to post.

ONGOING AREAS OF REVIEW
--------------

12. (U) Optical Media Piracy: Optical media piracy in
Greece is a regional problem. The direct production of
pirated optical media is not believed to be widespread in
Greece, but largely imported from Central/Eastern Europe and
Asia. Post has been unable to determine if Greece has a
formal and consistent licensing policy for optical media
manufacturing capacity, equipment, or material inputs. SID
codes are visible on most locally manufactured CDs, however.


13. (U) Use/Procurement of Government Software: Although the
absolute amount is believed to be on the decline, many
government organs, including some ministries, are believed to
illegally share computer software. In many cases, this
illegal sharing takes place as a result of ignorance of what
constitutes piracy. Although Greece has taken steps to
combat this problem, the process of educating government
users and enforcing licensing rules will take some time and
the dedication of more resources than are currently
available. Greece does have a governmental circular in place
(YAP/F.00/B/167/266),which specifically obligates all levels
of the State Government to abide by all IPR laws and
regulations, including software licensing agreements, and
assigns responsibility for proper use of software to the
Directors of Information Technology of each government agency.


14. (U) TRIPs Compliance: Greece is fully TRIPs compliant.


15. (U) Enforcement: As described earlier, Greece has a
problem with enforcement of its IPR legislation. Most of the
enforcement difficulties are with the judicial branch, where
judges do not receive any significant training regarding IPR
issues either before or after the assumption of their duties.
Ill-informed on Greece,s legislation, or the economic
impact of IPR violations, most judges are unwilling to impose
fines they view as excessive against the low-level vendors of
pirated or trade-mark infringed goods. Although the GoG has
the political will to combat piracy, it will need prodding to
make the additional effort necessary to provide training for
judges.
RIES