FRENCH STEP UP ANTIPIRACY EFFORTS; INTERESTED IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001578

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EB/TPP, EUR/ERA, and EUR/WE

STATE PASS USTR

COMMERCE FOR USPTO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ETRD FR
SUBJECT: FRENCH STEP UP ANTIPIRACY EFFORTS; INTERESTED IN
SHARING INFORMATION WITH U.S.

REF: 04 PARIS 5159

NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (U) ACTION REQUEST AND COMMENT: See para 9.


2. (U) SUMMARY. Nine months after launching an aggressive
antipiracy and counterfeiting plan (reftel),the French
government is stepping up its training and coordination
efforts overseas against piracy of consumer and luxury
goods. By mid-2005, GOF officials say they will have close
to forty new positions overseas partially or fully
responsible for coordinating international anti-piracy
training programs, in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern
Europe. GOF officials told Robert Stoll, USPTO Director of
Enforcement, that the government has made a priority of
fighting piracy and counterfeiting since 2004, though it has
not yet put into place a centralized structure to better
coordinate its efforts. GOF officials and private sector
representatives appreciated Stoll's visit, and say they are
open to sharing information and approaches with the U.S. in
third countries, particularly in key countries like Poland.
END SUMMARY.


3. (U) During a visit to Paris, Robert Stoll, U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director of Enforcement met
with French officials and representatives of the Union of
Manufacturers, the main private sector association involved
in antipiracy efforts. At the Ministry of Economy, Finance
and Industry, he met with Elie Beauroy and Marie-Jose
Semence (DGTPE, trade ministry equivalents; Philippe
Kearney, Deputy Director French Customs and Sophie Meynard,
IP office director, French Customs; Claudine Segelle, Fraud
unit chief, Ministry of Finance' Philippe Lagauche, Police
Judiciaire (prosecutor's office); Jean-Baptiste Moziconacci,
Head of Assistance at INPI (National Institute of Industrial
Property). At the Foreign Ministry, he met with deputy G8
coordinator Jean-Francois Chouvet. Stoll was accompanied by
Trade Policy Officer.


4. (SBU) GOF officials told Stoll that the GOF would be
placing 38 trained experts in anti-piracy in key embassies
around the world to coordinate international IP programs and
liaise with host governments. Officials are drawn from the
patent office (INPI),the trade ministry (DGTPE) and
customs. These detailees are in the process of being placed
in Beijing, Rabat, Beirut, Bangkok and other key spots. The
French work through bilateral agreements, in which joint
committees supervise the activities. France has bilateral
agreements with most of its interlocutors in the Middle East
and Asia. The level of activity of each committee varies.
For example, the activity level of the French-Russian
committee is low and less effective due to the overwhelming
corruption among Russian officials.


5. (U) The GOF has also been stepping up its bilateral
training programs in those regions, as well as in Central
and South America. Financing for this training often comes
partially from the European Commission's technical
assistance programs such as TACIS. The training resembles
U.S. efforts in similar areas, focusing on customs
enforcement and capacity building and review of intellectual
property rights. The GOF is also interested in pursuing
more cost-effective distance learning programs (e-learning),
and appeared interested in U.S. role-playing training
methods.

Organization
--------------

6. (U) The French admitted that apart from the general
ministerial directive, issued at the same time of the
"Sarkozy plan" (as the antipiracy plan is known) there is no
centralized coordinating body at the political level.
Broader priorities are determined by the CNAC (National Anti-
Counterfeiting Council),which is supervised by the Minister
of Industry. Other interagency groups meet on an ad hoc
basis with regard to international obligations and because
of this informal structure GOF officials admitted they have
no "IP czar" yet. The GOF structure is open to input from
consumer groups and other "social actors", but those groups
have less influence, GOF officials say, than in the U.S.
The most effective argument for fighting piracy in France,
say GOF officials, seems to be protecting the safety of
goods, i.e. consumer protection, rather than protecting
jobs.

G-8 Follow-up?
--------------

7. (U) At the Foreign Ministry, Stoll recalled the IP
proposal that France had made in February 2004 in the run-up
to the Sea Island G8 summit. Chouvet, who is Sous-sherpa
Alain Le Roy's deputy, noted that while the French proposal
from February 2004 still was valid, the UK presidency had
other priorities, particularly focused on Africa (not a
common priority region for fighting piracy). He did note
that the UK had indeed offered to review implementation of
the previous G8 recommendations for the past three years,
and that IP cooperation could come up there.

Concern over Poland: "Europe's last firewall"
--------------

8. (SBU) French industry representatives told Stoll they
were deeply concerned about Poland, which they regard as
"Europe's last firewall". Located on the border next to
Ukraine, Poland plays a key role in preventing pirate goods
from entering the European Union's distribution channels.
The Union des Fabricants (UIF) plays a key role in all
French public/private cooperation, including luxury goods
but also consumer products. The association, which
represents all goods companies, works closely with the GOF
to train officials and provide intelligence to foreign
governments and agencies. UIF contacts noted that with
poorly established distribution channels, Poland's own
economy was open to criminal and counterfeiting networks,
and that vulnerability could spread to Eastern and Western
Europe. The UIF's director general Christine Lai said she
would appreciate sharing approaches on improving training
and information collection in Poland. She also expressed
interest in sharing information on how to combat piracy
online, both in terms of legal approaches and practical
issues. Stoll explained the U.S.'s approach to fighting
website piracy, and offered to share information on Poland.


9. (U) ACTION REQUEST AND COMMENT. USPTO Director Stoll's
visit was well received by both the French government
officials and the French private sector. After reviewing
both U.S. and French initiatives on piracy, French officials
agreed there was considerable common ground. Stoll offered
an initial informal exchange of information with the
principal French private sector industry group (UIF) on
training and enforcement in Poland. Embassy believes that
there is good potential for further cooperative work -
particularly in third countries -- in the anti-piracy, anti-
counterfeiting area. Embassy would appreciate Washington's
views on possibilities for
any further bilateral and EU cooperation in this area.
Leach