MIN COMMERCE IPR TASKFORCE RAMPS UP, SEPTEMBER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003222

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON KIPR PREL KU IPR
SUBJECT: MIN COMMERCE IPR TASKFORCE RAMPS UP, SEPTEMBER
CONFERENCE PLANNED


1. (SBU) Summary: During a July 18 meeting with Ministry of
Commerce Inspection Department Director Mansour Al-Nazhan, we
heard about increased IPR enforcement activity on the part of
a newly created "task force" to combat intellectual property
theft. While the six-month old task force does not have the
power to make arrests, it can seize and confiscate pirated
goods, and can refer crimes to the public prosecutor for
fines and arrests. Al-Nazhan said that the Ministry of
Commerce still needed more cooperation from other ministries,
but hoped that a new inter-agency committee formed by the
Council of Ministers would rectify some of these
shortcomings. He complained that the IFPI was "talking bad
about Kuwait" without providing the needed cooperation, and
said that his inspectors needed more training in spotting
fake or counterfeit products in the marketplace. He invited
Embassy and/or USPTO participation in a September conference
that would be geared towards educating the public on IPR
issues. End Summary.

Min Commerce Task Force Gets Into IPR Enforcement
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2. (SBU) Econ Officer met July 18 with Ministry of Commerce
Inspection Department Director Mansour Al-Nazhan, who has
been given the mandate to establish a new task force designed
to carry out IPR enforcement. He said that he is in charge
of all of the Ministry of Commerce task forces for each
governate within Kuwait. His task force does not have the
power to make arrests, he explained, but can refer cases to
the public prosecutor. His inspectors can seize and
confiscate counterfeit goods and he displayed a paper chart
that his task force uses to track all of the seizures, by
neighborhood and type of goods seized. He said that his
inspectors usually start by grabbing "the small guys on the
street" and then "pressing" them to find their supplier. He
said that his task force usually informs the local agents of
the IPR holders of the violations, except for Microsoft, who
he deals with directly through its office in Kuwait. The
counterfeit goods are destroyed, he said, after the attorney
general gives his permission.

Crackdown Having Mixed Results
--------------


3. (SBU) Al-Nazhan said that 70% to 80% of the piracy and
counterfeit goods in Kuwait were being sold "by Pakistanis
and Indians, like gangs," and said that the ones on top of
the chain actually make a lot of money and live very well,
"in very nice apartments." He added that some Kuwaitis were
involved, but that with the increased pressure on IPR
violators, many of the Kuwaitis "had gotten out of the game."
He said that the small-timers had become much more careful
and that most don't get caught twice. He said that the
dealers just show very small quantities of counterfeit goods
to potential customers now, rather than laying out all of
their wares.

More Cooperation and Training Needed
--------------


4. (SBU) More cooperation was needed with the Ministry of
Interior, Al-Nazhan said, in order to get serious about IPR
enforcement on the street. He noted that the Council of
Ministers had formed an inter-agency committee on IPR and he
hoped that the efforts would be more unified through this
committee. He agreed with our assessment that the Ministry
of Information has been deficient in its IPR protection and
enforcement duties, but hoped it would be better "with recent
changes at the Ministry." Al-Nazhan said that the Ministry
of Commerce was not really providing any training for his
inspectors and that he needed more training in how to spot
counterfeit products. He said that some private companies
have sponsored training seminars in Dubai but that more were
needed. He also said that he felt that the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) had been
"talking bad about Kuwait without reason" and that the IFPI
was "not cooperating" with him in his requests for original
source material with which to compare the counterfeit goods.

Expanded Scope of Goods, and September Conference
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5. (U) Al-Nazhan said that his task force was also going
after other counterfeit goods, such as auto parts and
pharmaceuticals. Inspection and enforcement for auto parts
was difficult, he said, because you can have legitimate
"generic" or off-brand spare parts, as long as they don't
carry a trademark violation by claiming they are genuine
spare parts if they are not. He said that pharmaceuticals is
becoming an area of increasing concern, and he showed us a
bottle of fake Viagra that his inspectors had seized. He
said that "an Arab national" was caught distributing the fake
Viagra to pharmacies "all over the country." Finally,
Al-Nazhan said that the Ministry of Commerce and the Kuwaiti
Lawyers Association would be sponsoring a conference in
September on IPR and would aim to educate the public with
statistics and displays of counterfeit products. He welcomed
Embassy and/or USPTO support and participation.

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