BRAZIL'S NATIONAL PLAN TO COMBAT PIRACY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 BRASILIA 000599

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ETRD KJUS BR IPR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL'S NATIONAL PLAN TO COMBAT PIRACY

REF A) BRASILIA 487 (NOTAL)


1. SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT
ACCORDINGLY


2. (U) Summary. Brazil's National Council to Combat
Piracy and Intellectual Property Crimes (Council) has
formulated a national plan consisting of 91 measures,
broken down into three categories based on their
expected timeframe for implementation. The Council
expects to be able to implement 38 measures within 6
months, including a national media campaign,
escalation of police operations, and the formation of
specialized IPR units in the Federal Police and
Federal Highway Police. At the March 8 Bilateral
Consultative Mechanism meeting, the GoB will provide
an update to their September report on copyright
enforcement and the Executive Secretary of the Council
will make a presentation on the Council and the
national plan. End Summary.

Background - National Council


3. (U) Last November, the GoB formed a high-level
National Council to Combat Piracy and Intellectual
Property Crimes (Council),to a large extent in
response to pressure from the USG in the form of a
review of Brazil's trade benefits under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program
(reftel). The Council is presided over by the well-
respected Vice-Minister of Justice, Luiz Paulo
Barreto. Marcio Costa de Menezes e Goncalves, who
hails from the audiovisual private sector, has now
been tapped to work full-time as Executive Secretary
of the Council, and is responsible for providing its
day-to-day direction. The Council is comprised of
high-level government officials, leading IPR industry
representatives and congressional staffers.

National Plan


4. (SBU) On March 1, Otavio Brandelli, head of
Itamaraty's IPR Division, provided econoff with a
readout of the Council's three-day meeting (February
26-28) in which a national anti-piracy plan was
formulated. With clear enthusiasm, Brandelli
described that an expert in public planning had led
the group through a marathon session in which the
council constructed a national plan through a wholly
collaborative effort - first with the group labeling
the problem, then defining it further, and finally
brainstorming to propose and agree on ideas for
effectively attacking the problem.


5. (SBU) The end result was a list of 91 measures,
broken down into categories of short-term (6 months),
medium-term (1 year),and long-term (2 years),based
on their expected time-frame for implementation,
although work is supposed to commence immediately on
all 91 measures (see para 10 below for an unofficial
translation of the measures). Brandelli stressed that
all the measures were adopted by consensus; he noted
that an additional six to seven measures are going to
be discussed during the Council's next meeting on
March 17. According to Brandelli, the process was
productive not only for the resulting plan, but also
in forging cohesiveness and a high-level of commitment
within the group as it afforded all participants a
"buy-in."


6. (U) Thirty-eight measures fall into the short-term
category, including a national media campaign, an
escalation of police operations, and the formation of
specialized IPR units within the Federal Police and
Federal Highway Police. Creation of a national
database falls into measures that will be implemented
over the longer-term.

7. (SBU) In a separate discussion with Carlos Alberto
de Camargo of the Association for the Defense of
Intellectual Property and of the Motion Picture
Association, he described the biggest challenge for
implementation of the national plan as funding. He
identified two budgetary sources: the National Fund
for Public Security at the federal level, and state
governments. The Ministry of Justice is responsible
for lining up implementation resources. Additional
resources may be sought by seeking "collaborators" for
implementation of specific measures; he noted that USG
involvement would be welcome. (Note, certain measures
of the national plan could fit comfortably within
potential technical assistance projects administered
by Department of Justice OPDAT.) Camargo assured
econoff that in instances where the Council lacked
institutional authority to direct the action of
another governmental body, resulting in a measure in
the form of a "recommendation," the intention of the
Council is to go beyond recommending and to work
directly with the entity involved to ensure
implementation.


8. (U) The Brazilian delegation to the Bilateral
Consultative Mechanism (BCM) meeting on March 8 in
Washington will provide an update to the report on
copyright enforcement the GoB presented at last
September's BCM meeting. They plan to provide data on
police actions, as available, including raids in well-
known market places. The centerpiece of their
presentation will be a report given by Marcio Costa de
Menezes e Goncalves, Executive Secretary of the
Council, on the national plan.


9. (U) Consulates Rio and Sao Paulo will report on
private sector perspectives toward the Council and the
national plan in septels.


10. (U) Unofficial translation of the list of measures
identified as comprising Brazil's national plan to
combat piracy follow. The measures are divided into
categories that reflect the expected timeframe for
implementation.

SHORT-TERM ACTIONS


1. Create Federal Police Department Divisions for
Reducing Contraband and Embezzlement and Combating
Piracy, and a similar Section in the Federal Highway
Police Department.


2. Amply publicize Government actions in the fight
against piracy.


3. Recommend that the Judiciary Power create
specialized or preferential jurisdictions for
Intellectual Property.


4. Recommend creation of Legal Prosecutors specialized
in Intellectual Property.


5. Improve the process of removing foreigners involved
with Intellectual Property offenses from the country.


6. Improve exchange of information and agreements for
the purpose of extraditing criminals.


7. Recommend to States installation of Specialized
Police Stations, under the purview of SUSP.


8. Recommend to MEC action with headmasters for
effective compliance with Law 9.610 (author's rights)
in Colleges and Universities.


9. Recommend to MEC reassessment of the number of
copies of books per discipline/student.


10. Conduct seminars/events with judge's associations,
OAB and Attorney General (Public Ministry).


11. Conduct a seminar (MERCOSUL) about piracy.


12. Support the process of legislative changes that
call for an expert opinion through sampling of seized
pirated products, as well as remove the necessity to
describe all goods seized.


13. Identify transparent methods of financing by the
private sector of measures to fight piracy.


14. Include the piracy theme in the Unified System of
Public Safety - SUSP.


15. Study international agreements that can influence
the practice of piracy in Brazil.


16. Suggest neighboring countries increase inspection
at borders suspected of piracy.


17. Propose to the Ministry of Planning prioritization
of resources for construction, expansion, reform and
equipping installations of inspection agencies (SRF,
DPF, DPRF).


18. Support together with the Ministry of Planning,
increased staffing for Federal Police, Federal
Highways and Federal Revenue.


19. Strengthen and publicize methods of exchange and
warranties for legal products used in piracy.


20. Create an educational campaign: "Cheap Costs a
Lot".


21. Show the population how a legal product is priced.


22. Teach the consumer to evaluate products based not
only on price.


23. Inform society about software offers and lower
prices for students and teachers.


24. Suggest to ANATEL, the telecom regulator, that it
increase monitoring of radio and TV transmissions of
intellectual works likely to be pirated.


25. Request unions who defend Intellectual Property
give the Council periodic updates on new types of
piracy and counterfeiting.


26. Create training materials for instruction on
police investigation, regarding crimes against
Intellectual Property.


27. Recommend to administrative and police authorities
that they request authorization to destroy pirated
products in public and private storage.


28. Create within the Council a channel of
communication for receipt and handling of accusations.


29. Suggest to the National Bar Association placement
of Intellectual Property questions on bar exams.


30. Seek together with the Ministry of Education and
educational entities inclusion of Intellectual
Property in coursework in higher level courses,
especially in law courses.


31. Propose to the Judiciary creation of a database
listing civil and criminal lawsuits of violations of
Intellectual Property rights.


32. Promote management with state and municipal
governments that cede public space for sale of pirated
products.


33. Send the Council communications warning about the
practice of book piracy, to higher learning
establishments.


34. Propose public/private partnerships aimed at using
communication channels in awareness campaigns on the
subject.


35. Organize campaigns divulging information about the
risks of consuming pirated products.


36. Disseminate Council work to the manufacturing
sector to encourage their participation in activities
against piracy and Intellectual Property crimes.


37. Propose changes in legislation that permit quick
destruction or alternative disposition of seized
pirated goods, when possible, even before it goes to
trial.


38. Suggest the maintenance and escalation of
operations by Federal Police, Federal Highway Police
and Federal Revenue against manufacture and
distribution of pirated goods in Brazil.


MEDIUM-TERM ACTIONS


1. Better control immigration.


2. Establish better customs and police cooperation,
especially among MERCOSUL members and border
countries.


3. Propose formation of an International Court for
Combating Piracy.


4. Cooperate in the training and certification of
personnel with support of international organizations
and entities.


5. Tighten cooperation with border countries
(especially tri-border) and third countries.


6. Hold an annual national meeting for exchange of
information for combating piracy.


7. Propose creation of popular products at low prices
(alternatives).


8. Offer incentives to develop studies between
government and industrial manufacturing sector with a
view to reducing prices on products that tend to be
pirated.


9. Assist in establishing reference pricing parameters
to aid in the control of incoming pirated products and
fraud.


10. Identify the need for updating legislation and
study bills in process in the National Congress that
deal with Intellectual Property.


11. Propose to the police chiefs and Attorney General
(Public Ministry) publication of internal
administrative norms to standardize procedures for
combating piracy.


12. Identify and propose prioritized geographic
regions for border action.

13. Request systematic operations at known critical
points.

14. Study ways to apply WTO customs valuation code,
similar to that of MERCOSUL and ALADI.


15. Conduct frequent national campaigns in the media
with the support of public and private entities,
artists and their own means of communication.


16. Promote awareness activities in professional
institutes and learning establishments, such as
universities, schools, etc.


17. Propose creation of state and municipal inspection
work groups in significant centers of illegal
products.


18. Evaluate already existing resources for formation
of a database.


19. Broadcast through communication channels the
illegality of publication of ads for pirated products.


20. Evaluate Decree 4.543/02 concerning customs rules,
eliminating eventual regulations that make combating
piracy difficult.


21. Formulate proposals regarding appropriate
disposition of seized products and equipment.


22. Formulate proposals that assign liability to
agents who perform electronic sales of products that
violate Intellectual Property.


23. Seek public and private means to increase the
quantity of instructional materials in libraries,
teaching institutions and other entities of public
interest.


24. Institute or perfect integrated intelligence
systems at SRF, DPF and DPRF to combat piracy.


25. Promote seminars, courses and other activities
involving the public and private sectors and unions,
designed for specific target audiences (judges,
prosecutors, experts, police, customs agents, authors,
artists, etc.) with the purpose of disseminating
knowledge about legislation and its observance.


26. Develop mechanisms to share operational
information on the subject among police,
administrators, inspectors and judiciary.


27. Support the inclusion of piracy in curricula at
police academies and federal, state and municipal
inspection agencies.


28. Support states and municipalities in their
respective application initiatives regarding police
power and administrative inspection.


29. Conduct educational campaigns for students
regarding illegal reproduction of books.


30. Enter into agreements with research institutions
to generate studies, numbers and statistics on the
extent of piracy in the country (for all sectors).


31. Enter into agreements with research institutions
(IPEA, IBGE, etc.) to conduct a socio-economic
analysis regarding the problem of piracy in the
country.


32. Support strengthening of judgeships and creation
of agencies in structures where they don't yet exist.


33. Promote and stimulate exchange of information
among international agencies related to the fight
against Intellectual Property crimes.


34. Obtain from pertinent public institutions, in
particular agencies that deal with reducing crime,
subsidies that allow elaboration of information about
technical and financial difficulties encountered in
prevention or reduction activities.


LONG-TERM ACTIONS


1. Promote common policies in the education field to
enlighten the population as to the evils of piracy.


2. Promote/aid development of activities that can
substitute for piracy in border countries.


3. Conduct and give incentives for training and
certification courses for police agents, experts, and
specifically agents of the Federal Revenue Service and
State Revenue Secretaries.


4. Promote means for coordinating actions between
police and government administrative inspection
agencies.


5. Stimulate creation of state councils for combating
piracy.


6. Periodic disclosure of statistics regarding
information obtained on piracy.


7. Create and maintain a database, with information
collected on a national level, integrated into the
Unified System of Public Safety (SUSP).


8. Sign agreements with entities specialized in
development and management of databases.


9. Promote and elaborate research and periodic
evaluation on the piracy situation in target sectors.


10. Improve alternative sentencing techniques and
impose greater strictness in compliance.


11. Conduct studies as to the possibility of reversing
the burden of proof in cases of customs
underinvoicing.


12. Studies on the possibility of seizing vehicles and
goods used for piracy.


13. Studies about the common responsibility of owners
of commercial establishments and teaching of piracy in
institutions.


14. Conduct studies about ways to promote balance of
relations between owners of Intellectual Property
rights and consumers.


15. Coordination of marketing campaigns geared towards
valuing and respecting intellectual property and
against piracy.


16. Creation/perfection of an integrated database from
other public organs containing information on
foreigners suspected of involvement with acts of
piracy with subsequent release to related foreign
agencies.


17. Sign agreements with research institutions to
identify compliance with manufacturing, distribution
and business activities (standard of competition and
price formulation).


18. Study with the public and private sectors the
viability of small distributors substituting pirated
products for another type of legal product or
alternative employment.


19. Study in partnership with the private sector,
possible alternatives for the reduction of the price
differential/costs between legal and illegal products.

Danilovich