OMAN COMMITTED TO PROTECTING IPR; SOME CONCERNS

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000948 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/CBA, EB/TPP/MTA/IPC, NEA/ARP COMMERCE FOR ITA (C.OBERG) COMMERCE PASS USPTO (J.TRACY) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KIPR ECPS MU SUBJECT: OMAN COMMITTED TO PROTECTING IPR; SOME CONCERNS REMAIN REF: A. MUSCAT 129 ¶B. GRIMM-TRACY E-MAIL OF 6 JUNE 2006 ¶C. MUSCAT 103 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) The Omani government remains committed to protecting IPR, as evidenced by the recent confiscation of pirated media and the hosting of a regional IPR seminar. Omani officials welcome further technical assistance from U.S. counterparts to help improve the Sultanate's IPR regulations and enforcement capabilities. End Summary. -------------- Recent Successes -------------- ¶2. (U) On June 7, Econoff discussed recent Omani government efforts to curb IPR violations with Yahya al-Riyami, Director of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Al-Riyami highlighted the recent collaborative efforts of the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Information, Heritage and Culture, and the Royal Oman Police in conducting extensive sweeps of Muscat's commercial districts, which netted over 40,000 counterfeit media products. He also noted that the Ministry had worked closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in hosting the April "WIPO International Seminar on the Strategic Use of Intellectual Property for Economic and Social Development." This seminar, featuring experts from both the public and private sectors, stressed the importance of IPR protection towards creating a conducive atmosphere for innovation and economic growth. -------------- Stealing Signals, Software -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In spite of the government's attention to IPR, concerns remain. In a June 6 teleconference with Econoff, Showtime Arabia officials described the extent to which cable splitting had permeated military installations, private sector facilities, and apartment residences. Showtime officials also expressed concern about the recent trend of selling encrypted signals over broadband lines, as well as satellite receiver box manufacturers selling units that by-pass security access codes. ¶4. (SBU) Econoff raised these concerns with al-Riyami, who commented that his Ministry had worked with Showtime Arabia previously to address similar issues. He pledged to raise the specific information provided by Showtime Arabia with his colleagues at the ROP, and asked for further contact information on the suspected violators in order to follow-up on the company's concerns. ¶5. (U) In addition to signal theft, software piracy remains a concern. While Oman's efforts to protect IPR have received praise from the Business Software Alliance (BSA),the organization reported in its 2005 study of software piracy that Oman had made scant progress in reducing its piracy rate, which stood at 62%, only a single point lower than the rate for 2004. By contrast, the overall rate for the Middle East was 57%, with the UAE registering the region's lowest figure of 34%. -------------- Assistance Welcomed -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Acknowledging the difficulties in enforcing IPR, especially with the advances in technology, al-Riyami welcomed further technical assistance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He remarked that the proposed USPTO bilateral program for Oman in early December (ref B) would be well-received, given the success of the USPTO's prosecutorial program held in January 2006 (ref C). In particular, al-Riyami asked that the USPTO focus on presenting techniques to help customs and investigative officials distinguish between genuine and fake products in their efforts to stop counterfeit products at the border. STEWART