SPECIAL 301 OUT-OF-CYCLE REVIEW NOTIFICATION -

UNCLAS TAIPEI 000134 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/TPP/MTA/IPC, STATE PASS AIT/W AND USTR, USTR FOR KI AND FREEMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR ECON IPR SUBJECT: SPECIAL 301 OUT-OF-CYCLE REVIEW NOTIFICATION - TAIWAN REF: SECSTATE 7689 ¶1. Econ Chief met January 13 with Taiwan Intellectual Property Office Deputy Director General Jack Lu to deliver reftel points and delivered the same message in a call to Ministry of Economic Affairs Deputy Minister Steve Chen. Chen and Lu welcomed the news that Taiwan would be downgraded from the Special 301 Priority Watch List to the Watch List, but they both expressed disappointment that Taiwan will remain on the Special 301 list. ¶2. Lu noted that Taiwan officials will continue to take additional steps to further the protection of intellectual property, including a planned crackdown on copyright and trademark pirates scheduled for the Chinese New Year holiday, a recent meeting to develop a work-plan for combating internet piracy, continuing plans to create a specialized IP Court, and plans to create an internet academy to train enforcement officials on ways to combat internet piracy. Lu noted that he had met with representatives from three major rights-holders groups in the last week (the Motion Picture Association, the Business Software Alliance, and the International Federation of Phonographic Industries) and that TIPO would continue to work closely with these groups to improve IPR protection in Taiwan. ¶3. Lu then asked what steps would be necessary to support Taiwan's removal from the Special 301 Watch List. Econ Chief responded that the US Government and rights-holder groups still have concerns about Taiwan's protection of pharmaceutical data, the continued operation of Peer to Peer (P2P) services Kuro and EZPeer, and the slow progress of cases through the judicial system, among other issues. He encouraged Taiwan to continue to take steps to deal with these problems in order create the kind of environment for intellectual property protection that will encourage innovation in Taiwan. PAAL