INDONESIA IPR UPDATE -- AUGUST 22, 2006

UNCLAS JAKARTA 010444 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR EAP/MTS; EB/IPE/EAP COMMERCE FOR BERLINGUETTE/4430 COMMERCE PLEASE PASS USPTO FOR JOELLEN URBAN DEPT PASS TO USTR DKATZ, JGROVES, RBAE, VESPINEL E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: KIPR ETRD WTO ECON ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA IPR UPDATE -- AUGUST 22, 2006 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Indonesian Government (GOI) officials are gearing up for another meeting of the National IPR Task Force. The Ministry of Industry (MOI) sent a letter to optical disc factories warning them that unannounced inspections will soon begin. A new DOJ-ICITAP senior technical advisor has come on board and agreed with the MOI on an operation plan for the next year. Indonesia's Police Chief and Minister of Justice have teamed up to make an anti- piracy video clip. End Summary. National Task Force Moving Forward -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ministry of Trade Director for Bilateral Cooperation I Sondang Anggraini told us that a National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Task Force working level group met on August 14 and planned to meet again in preparation for the Task Force's quarterly Echelon 1 (Director General level) meeting in early September. Anggraini said that working level members have produced IPR action plans for their respective ministries. They will report progress to the Task Force's cabinet level members every six months. While Anggraini apparently had copies of the action plans with her, she did not share them with us. She explained that some members of the Task Force felt strongly that there should be more Indonesian ownership of IPR enforcement, and that they wished to avoid the perception that the Task Force was U.S.-led. Monitoring Team Warns Factories -------------- ¶3. (SBU) MOI Directorate General for Chemical, Agriculture and Forestry Based Industry Director Tony Tanduk provided us with a copy of an August 15 letter he sent to Indonesia's 27 registered optical disk (OD) factories. As promised, the letter warns factories that the OD Factory Monitoring team will soon begin periodic and unannounced factory visits in accordance with the GOI's 2004 optical disk regulations. The letter notes that the MOI expects the factories to cooperate with the inspections and provide the Monitoring Team with relevant production documents. ¶4. (SBU) One of two State Department-funded, DOJ-ICITAP IPR senior technical advisors began work at the beginning of August. The advisor has recently reached agreement with the MOI Tony Tanduk on an operation plan for working with the MOI OD Factory Monitoring Team. The plan calls for further training, database improvements, a revised monitoring checklist, and the establishment of monitoring teams in key cities outside Jakarta. Jakarta and regional-based recording industry (IFPI) representatives met on August 16 with DOJ-ICITAP directors, Econ officer, the DOJ-ICITAP monitoring team senior technical advisor, and the candidate for a second DOJ-ICITAP IPR senior technical advisor position with the police. Police Chief/Justice Minister Make Anti-Piracy Video -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) We reviewed a short Indonesian language anti-piracy video clip that is expected to be aired on television in the coming months. The video includes Indonesia's Minister of Justice and Police Chief explaining that piracy is illegal and noting the ill effects it is having on Indonesia's artists and investment climate. The video also includes a segment in which a Muslim cleric explains that piracy is forbidden under Islamic law. PASCOE