PROPOSAL FOR INL-FUNDED REGIONAL IPR TRAINING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001742

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL/RM AND EB/TPP/IPE
DEPT PASS USTR FOR JCHOE-GROVES, LERRION
DEPT PASS USPTO FOR JURBAN AND EWU
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/CRUSNAK

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KIPR KCRM TU
SUBJECT: PROPOSAL FOR INL-FUNDED REGIONAL IPR TRAINING
FY 2006

REF: A) STATE 34733

ANKARA 00001742 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassies,
Athens, Bucharest, Sofia, and Tirana and Consulate
Thessaloniki.


2. (U) As requested ref A, this message provides a
proposal for FY '06 INL-funded regional IPR training.

IPR: A REGIONAL PROBLEM
--------------


3. (SBU) According to USTR, Turkey, Greece, and their
neighboring Balkan countries represent a region of
increasing concern for IPR violations, both in the
production and trans-shipment of pirated goods. In
2005, Turkey was placed on the Special 301 Priority
Watch List, and Bulgaria and Romania were listed on the
Watch List. For 2006, these countries will likely
remain in their 2005 categories, and Greece is also
being considered for inclusion on the Watch List. While
these countries have made substantial improvements
related to IPR protection, deficiencies still exist,
especially in the areas of enforcement and prosecution.
For example, in industry's 2006 Special 301 submissions,
many emphasized the increase in both production and
trans-shipment of pirated goods in and through Turkey.
Products that violate both copyrights and patents and
trademarks were mentioned in these submissions.


4. (SBU) Officials in this region widely assume that a
link exists between organized crime and the production
and distribution of pirated goods, but the investigation
and prosecution of IPR offenses in this context have not
been successful. In addition, organized criminal
activity in the region reaches beyond the domestic
borders and allegedly includes the shipment of goods
through these countries from the area of production to
the distribution destination. Consulate Thessaloniki
previously provided training for Southeastern Europe
Cooperative Initiative members on organized crime in the
region, but IPR was only a small component of this
program. We believe that a training program that would
assist law enforcement in linking IPR with organized
crime would enable enhanced IPR seizures and enforcement
as well as provide stronger criminal penalties for the
parties responsible for producing and shipping the
pirated goods.

PROPOSAL: SOUTHEAST EUROPE REGIONAL IPR TRAINING
-------------- ---


5. (U) To this end, we propose a regional IPR training
program targeting southeastern European countries for
which IPR violations are a growing problem. In this
proposed training, the Department of Justice Office of
Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and
Training (OPDAT),and in coordination with USPTO, the
Department of State Bureau for Economic and Business
Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S.
Embassy Ankara, would deliver a regional assistance
program focused on linking and prosecuting intellectual
property rights violations (copyrights, patents and
trademarks) in the larger context of regional organized
crime to a target audience of customs officials, police
and prosecutors from Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria
and Albania. The assistance program would focus on the
effective identification of such goods by police and
customs officials and enhanced investigative and
prosecutorial techniques and procedures to link these
goods with organized crime.


6. (U) The assistance program will be conducted by a USG
TDY team in Turkey, with a target date of the last
quarter of '06. Due to the regional nature of this
proposed training and the number of USG TDY officials
and participants, we estimate that approximately USD

ANKARA 00001742 002.2 OF 002


$100,000 will be needed. This assistance would include
travel and per diem for the USG TDY team, and for third-
country official travel and lodging, as needed, to
Ankara (Note: In each of these countries, officials have
indicated to us that their participation in
international training courses is often contingent upon
the availability of outside funds to cover their travel
expenses. End note.) In order to facilitate continued
cooperation between the participants, we propose that
only those officials with sufficient English attend this
training (if qualified English-speaking participants can
be identified) and, thus, translation should not be
needed. We anticipate that the GOT would provide a
training facility, but funds for the reproduction of
training material and logistics support will also be
needed.

RESULT: ENHANCED COOPERATION
--------------


7. (SBU) A regional program of this nature will provide
the participants with the opportunity to network and
learn about each country's IPR practices and procedures.
In addition, it will reinforce to the participants the
regional nature of IPR crimes and encourage enhanced
information sharing and transnational cooperation.
While such a regional program is more costly, it is more
cost effective than providing the same type of training
separately in each of the countries involved.
MCELDOWNEY