DUBAI AND NORTHERN EMIRATES CONTINUE IPR EFFORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 001692

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/19/2016
TAGS: ECIN ECON PGOV ETRD AE
SUBJECT: DUBAI AND NORTHERN EMIRATES CONTINUE IPR EFFORTS

REF: DUBAI 00326

CLASSIFIED BY: Jason L. Davis, Consul General, Dubai, UAE.
REASON: 1.4 (d),(e)



1.(U) Summary: Dubai Customs held an in-house training seminar
to improve inspectors ability to combat piracy and
counterfeiting. The Business Software Alliance President
visited Dubai to praise UAE anti-piracy efforts. While Dubai
Police and Courts continue to punish some IPR offenders, a case
involving unlicensed software being used in several Sharjah
companies' offices still awaits effective action by officials
there. End Summary.

Dubai Customs Holds In-House IPR Training
--------------

2.(U) In mid-February, Dubai Customs' IPR Unit, managed by
Yousuf Ozair, held the first of what is envisioned as a
recurring in-house IPR training seminar for customs inspectors.
Customs brought in corporate IPR experts from Dubai and Europe
to give presentations to approximately 20 officers. Customs
hopes to eventually cycle every one of its inspectors through
the weeklong seminar. The course seeks to make officers more
aware of IPR issues and ways to combat piracy and
counterfeiting.

BSA President Touts UAE's IPR Success
--------------

3.(U) In a 25 February meeting, Robert Holleyman, President of
the Business Software Alliance (BSA),told the Consul General he
is very pleased with the work that Dubai and the UAE perform to
protect IPR. CG also met with Jawad Al Redha, Middle East
Co-chairman for BSA and Scott Butler, CEO of the Arabian
Anti-Piracy Alliance, both based in Dubai. While in Dubai,
Holleyman touted BSA statistics indicating the UAE has the
lowest rate of piracy in the Middle East and North Africa
(reftel). He told the English-language daily newspaper Gulf
News "The UAE has led the way in the region and it is
encouraging to know that we are headed in the right direction.
The local governments have extended their total support and
commitment by working in close coordination with BSA and
adopting various anti-piracy measures." Holleyman believes that
if the UAE cut its piracy rate by an additional ten percent
(from 34 percent to 24 percent),350 million dollars and 650
jobs would be added to its economy.

Ongoing IPR Cases in Dubai & Sharjah
--------------

4.(U) On March 14, Dubai Courts sentenced a shop owner convicted
of selling illegal satellite television smart cards and decoder
boxes to three months in jail and a 50,000 dirham (approximately
13,620 USD) fine, according to Al Bayan newspaper. Continuing a
crackdown on illicit theft of encoded broadcast signals, Dubai
Police confiscated more than 100 decoders being used by laborers
in their residence camps, as reported in Gulf News on March 18.

5.(C) PolEconOff met with Estee Lauder Companies (ELC)
representatives Graham Clemence, Director of Security and
Trademark Protection, and Frank Mentgen, Manager of Global
Trademark Protection, while they were in town to make a
presentation at Dubai Customs' IPR training seminar. After the
training session, ELC told customs it has tracked three
companies based in Dubai that are shipping low quality
knock-offs to European markets. ELC believes the products are
manufactured in China. Customs told ELC there was nothing it
could do about product already transshipped to Europe, but that
Customs would take action if given information about future
shipments.

6.(C) On February 21, CG and PolEconOff met with representatives
of Mars Inc., and their local legal counsel, to discuss
trademark issues the company is having. Evie Kyriakides, Mars
Inc. Regional Trademark Counsel, and Ahmed Bayoumi, General
Manager of Master Foods (the Jebel Ali Free Zone-based producer
and rights holder of Mars brand products) complained of
Dubai-based companies importing, from Turkish manufacturers,
products whose packaging resembles that of familiar Mars
products. Mars has been attempting to address the problem
through Turkey's judicial system for several years, but progress
has been slow and unsatisfactory. (CG asked whether Mars had
alerted USTR to this problem so that it could be addressed via
the Special 301 Report submission process; Mars reps indicated
that they had not.) Given Mars Inc's frustration in dealing

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with the look-alike problem at its source (in Turkey),
Kyriakides said, Mars was very interested in the interim in
trying to prevent the offending products from being imported
into Dubai. The Mars delegation gave a presentation to Dubai
Customs IPR unit, and intends to compile a file of importers for
Customs to target. CG indicated to the Mars representatives
that the consulate would also be willing to flag the issue for
Dubai Customs. PolEconoff later spoke with the legal advisor in
Dubai Customs IPR unit, who confirmed Customs' willingness stop
the importation of the Turkish products as soon as Mars Inc.
provided the names of the importing entities, which would enable
Dubai Customs to conduct the necessary traces.

7.(C) In late February, Al Tamimi and Associates, a Dubai-based
law firm, provided an update to a case the BSA is pursuing in
Sharjah. Three companies there (Al Shrouq Electronics, Hantoosh
General Trading and Grace Consultant) are using unlicensed
Autodesk Inc. software. In late January, after experiencing
foot-dragging and a botched police raid on one of the companies,
BSA contacted the UAE Minister of Interior, Sheikh Saif bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, to try to resolve the issue. As of March 19,
the BSA and Al Tamimi are still awaiting a response; they
indicated to us that they are not yet ready to request that the
USG approach federal or Sharjah authorities to request
resolution of the matter.
DAVIS