EGYPT: DEMARCHE ON WIPO IPR AND DEVELOPMENT

UNCLAS CAIRO 002737 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR EG WIPO EIAD SUBJECT: EGYPT: DEMARCHE ON WIPO IPR AND DEVELOPMENT SESSION DELIVERED REF: STATE 56991 ¶1. Post delivered reftel demarche to senior-level officials in the following ministries and agencies responsible for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and policy: Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; and the Academy of Scientific Research. ¶2. The following response was received on April 7 from Ghada Howaidy, Director of International Relations at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. ¶3. Begin text of response. I would like to thank you for sharing with the Ministry the U.S. views on the special session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),which is scheduled from April 11 to 13. We have forwarded these views to the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA),the Ministry-affiliated authority concerned with IPR. Although ITIDA noted that they are lacking all background documents and agenda of this meeting, they thoroughly reviewed the U.S. views shared with the Ministry and responded as follows: - ITIDA agrees with the U.S. views concerning the WIPO. - The U.N. system with the current WIPO legal framework, and the existing WIPO bodies should be sufficient to address IPR-related development issues. - Attention and work should focus on mobilizing the existing Permanent Committee for Intellectual Property and Development in order to handle its responsibilities. ITIDA would like to get information and support on how to be a member of the Permanent Committee for Intellectual Property and Development. Again, I would like to thank you for sharing this document with us and we hope for a continued cooperation between Egypt and the U.S. Government in this area. ¶4. End text of response. ¶5. Comment: As noted above, the demarche was delivered to various government entities involved in IPR protection. The views of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology do not represent the views of the entire Egyptian Government. We expect there will be differences of opinion among the various agencies and will report on any additional responses. End comment. Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. GRAY