Sri Lankan Nominee for the USPTO's February

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000021

SIPDIS

E.O 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR CE OEXC ECONOMICS
SUBJECT: Sri Lankan Nominee for the USPTO's February
2006 Academy on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property
Rights

Ref: State 226581


1. Post welcomes the opportunity to nominate candidates
for the USPTO training programs and is pleased to
nominate Wasantha Navaratna Bandara, Senior State
Counsel in the Attorney General's office, for the
program scheduled from February 21-24, 2006.


2. Mr. Bandara has worked in the Attorney General's
office for the past 20 years. He has led the
prosecution of several leading commercial fraud cases.
Mr. Bandara has two specialized masters degrees in law,
one of which is on computer crimes and commercial fraud.
A detailed bio will be sent to USPTO directly.


3. This training will be helpful to Mr. Bandara as Sri
Lanka continues to enforce its new IPR law. Further,
Sri Lanka has also detected internet based IPR fraud, a
new threat that will require even greater familiarity
with the issues involved.


4. Mr. Bandara's nomination is strongly supported by
the Government of Sri Lanka's Information and
Communication Technology Agency (ICTA),the leading
government agency promoting IT services in Sri Lanka.
ICTA has agreed to meet Mr. Bandara's travel and per
diem expenses. ICTA would appreciate USPTO funding for
Mr. Bandara's lodging expenses.


5. POINT OF CONTACT: RICHARD C MERRIN, ECONOMIC
OFFICER, AMERICAN EMBASSY COLOMBO. EMAIL
MERRINRC@STATE.GOV, PH: 94-11-2448007 FAX: 94-11-
2437345

LUNSTEAD