IP COORDINATORS ADVANCE U.S. AGENDA IN GREECE

UNCLAS E F T O SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001881

SIPDIS

USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/KNAJDI/JKIMBALL

SIPDIS

NOFORN

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRDGR
SUBJECT: IP COORDINATORS ADVANCE U.S. AGENDA IN GREECE



1. (U) Summary: Department of Commerce Senior Advisor to
the U.S. Intellectual Property Coordinator, Wayne Paugh,
and David Brener, on detail to the IP Coordinator's office
from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, met with
senior Greek Government officials over two days, July 14-
15, to discuss U.S. concerns with Greece's IPR regime and
the implementation of an Action Plan. Although Greece was
not included as a Watch Country in the 2006 Special 301
Report issued by the U.S. Trade Representative this year,
concerns were such that an Action Plan was developed to
address IPR weaknesses in Greece. The visit from the
Commerce IPR Coordinator's office was productive in helping
us demonstrate the high-level USG interest on IPR,
especially vis-a-vis the Action Plan for Greece. The tone
and tenor of the senior level meetings was open and
positive, with the Greek interlocutors making a concerted
effort to detail steps they have taken and to propose and
discuss possible additional steps. The coordination of the
Secretary of the Greek Government, responsible for setting

SIPDIS
the agenda for cabinet meetings, was responsible for
bringing the visit of the U.S. officials to the attention
of the relevant Ministers.


2. (SBU) Greece was removed from the Special 301 Watch List
in 2003. Deputy Finance Minister Folias confided to us
that the current government leadership does not want Greece
to fall back onto the Watch List, and will make every
effort to avoid a recurrence. His positive attitude
contrasts sharply with many mid-level working officials who
have, unfortunately, been less responsive.


3. (U) U.S. IP Coordinator staff met with the following
Greek Government representatives.
Ms. Helen Louri-Dendrinou, Economic Advisor to the Prime
Minister.
Ms. Domna Kyrzopoulou, Economic Advisor to the Justice
Minister.
Mr. Christos Folias, Deputy Finance Minister.
Mr. Elias Argyros, Executive Secretary, Special Financial
Investigations Service.
Dr. Constantinos Polyzogopoulos, Director, Hellenic
Copyright Organization.
Mr. Manousos Voloudakis, Secretary General, Ministry of
Development.
Mr. George Kounadis, Director, Ministry of Finance.


4. (U) Ambassador Ries met with the U.S. officials at the
beginning of their program. The American Hellenic Chamber
of Commerce hosted a luncheon on the occasion of the visit,
which included representatives from the IT and apparel
sectors, BSA, MPAA, business consultants and lawyers. Mr.
Paugh and Mr. Brener were accompanied by the Senior
Commercial Officer and either FCS or ECON staff or both to
all meetings.


5. (U) At all meetings, Mr. Paugh explained that the IP
Coordinator's Office is primarily responsible for helping
implement a White House initiative to coordinate IP policy
across different agencies, and that it enjoys bi-partisan
and bi-cameral Congressional support. He briefed Greek
government and business officials on the STOP (Strategy
Targeting Organized Piracy) initiative, and relayed the
message that IPR was now a priority at the highest levels
of the U.S. government, including Secretary Gutierrez and
President Bush. He noted that 40% of U.S. economic growth
depends on intellectual property, and over 50% of U.S.
exports are linked in some way to intellectual property.


6. (U) The U.S. delegation complimented Greek officials on
the legal infrastructure in place, but urged that more
attention and resources be devoted to sustained enforcement
and training in general. The meetings yielded useful
information about a range of steps taken, challenges faced
by the Greek government, and areas where the U.S.
government might be able to assist. The following are
salient points discussed.


7. (SBU) Judicial: The independence of the judicial branch
was cited as a major obstacle to increased enforcement of
IPR violations. In the past the Justice Ministry has
issued circulars to all judges reminding them of the
importance of vigorous enforcement of IPR laws. In May,
the President of the Judicial Training Academy agreed to
begin training new judges in IPR issues. No action has
been taken yet. It was asked whether the U.S. Government
could support a colloquium for judges, in collaboration

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with the European Union, WIPO or the USPTO.


8. (SBU) Administrative Penalties: A Joint Committee has
been established under the auspices of the Culture Ministry
(Hellenic Copyright Organization) to review the adequacy of
current IPR law and the issue of administrative penalties
in particular. The Business Software Alliance supports the
use of administrative penalties while the Motion Picture
Association of America opposes its application to audio-
visual works. Although currently split on the decision to
introduce administrative penalties, the Greek Government
views the use of administrative penalties positively from
the point of view of state revenue. The Ministries of
Culture, Finance and Justice are supportive of
administrative penalties.


9. (SBU) Upstream Producers/Distributors: Deputy Finance
Minister Folias mentioned the need for Greece to implement
a strategy to identify upstream producers/distributors of
pirated merchandise. Although the Development Ministry
has competency in control and monitoring of retail markets,
only the police or the Special Financial Service have the
authority to pursue upstream producers and distributors.
Coordination with Justice, Culture and Public Order would
also be required.


10. (SBU) Trademark: The Development Ministry is in the
process of drafting a bill to transpose an E.U. directive
on trademarks and criminal penalties for violations. It is
expected to be submitted to Parliament in September. The
new law would enable the Ministry to levy administrative
fines on the spot, similar to the Special Financial
Investigation Service. Checks of the retail market show a
marked increase in both seizures and prosecutions. A 2005
Retail Market Law clarified and confirmed the ability of
Greek authorities to destroy confiscated products. Greek
authorities believe that much of the pirated trademarked
items enter Greece from other EU countries, especially
Italy.


11. (SBU) Communication: It was noted that Greek consumers
do not view piracy as a legal or moral issue. Purchasing
pirated products is not a crime in Greece. It was
suggested that a communication effort be made to address
public opinion in this area, and to make the public aware
of health and safety issues associated with pirated
products and the negative impact it has on popular Greek
artists and the economy of Greece overall. AmCham
volunteered to participate in such an outreach effort.


12. (SBU) Special Financial Investigations Service:
Perhaps the most encouraging news came from this office.
As part of a broader government effort to pursue tax
evasion, fraud, smuggling and other financial crimes, this
service has been given additional resources in the form of
well-trained personnel, IT equipment, vehicles, etc. The
service recently sent out letters to large companies, over
4,000 in total, giving them 20 days to respond with
information on the number and type of software licenses
held. Plans are to audit those companies who do not
respond and to do spot checks of others. This control
will be announced in all the Greek economic newspapers.
All information will be entered into a new database that
will be the primary tool to monitor compliance. By the end
of this year, the Service plans to target approximately
15,000 smaller (less than 50 employees) companies for the
same exercise.


13. (SBU) Customs/Police: Several officials asked whether
the U.S. Government could assist in training Greek customs
and police officers or whether the U.S. Government could
assist in identifying best practices. It was noted at the
AmCham conference that Greek customs lacks an adequate IT
platform, that Greek police are not knowledgeable about IP
law, and that there is a lack of standardized procedures
across Greece. AmCham officials also volunteered to
coordinate a seminar on training of customs and police.
Past success appears to be the result of personal
connections and a willingness on the part of individual
companies to invest the time and resources into training
Greek authorities.


14. (SBU) Integrity of Statistical Data: In two meetings,
Greek officials questioned the methodology used and general
accuracy of the data used as part of the Special 301
process.

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We believe that there are a number of very positive
developments in Greece, and that post can and will sustain
our engagement in the following areas.

Monitor progress of Special Financial Services unit in
carrying out its plans targeting software piracy.

Follow up with the Finance Ministry regarding efforts to
fashion an aggressive strategy to pursue upstream producers
and/or distributors.

Track the transposition of EU directives on trademark law
and criminal penalties.

Explore with the Justice Ministry ways in which to support
training of judges, perhaps offering U.S. Government
resources if appropriate. Ensure that the IP training for
new judges is implemented as promised.

Determine whether the U.S. Government can offer any
assistance in training of Greek customs and police.

Discuss with stakeholders the need and modalities of a
public communication campaign to shape Greek public opinion
about piracy.

RIES