IPR TOOLKIT: A MODIFIED APPROACH FOR CANADA

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001522 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS COMMERCE PASS TO SUSAN WILSON AND KRISTINE SCHLEGELMILCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR ECON CA SUBJECT: IPR TOOLKIT: A MODIFIED APPROACH FOR CANADA REF: SECSTATE 59250 ¶1. (U) Summary: Embassy Ottawa's IPR Working Group (IPR WG) suggests a smaller, streamlined IPR toolkit to help U.S. companies facing IPR problems in Canada. The main way the Embassy can improve the IPR climate for U.S. businesses in Canada is through encouraging the GOC to update its copyright act to implement the WIPO internet treaties, something that members of the IPR WG are raising at every appropriate level as often as possible. End summary. ¶2. (U) Reftel coincided with the first meeting of Embassy Ottawa's internal Intellectual Property Rights Working Group (IPR WG) comprised of officers from USCS, DHS, and the Econ section. Embassy Ottawa is fortunate to have one of the original creators of Embassy Beijing's IPR toolkit, Commercial Counselor Lee Boam. Drawing on his experience, the IPR Working Group concluded that Canada's IPR situation is profoundly different from China's and demands a different approach. The China IPR Toolkit is intended to help individual businesses protect their intellectual property in the virtual absence of reliable enforcement. ¶3. (U) In Canada, as pointed out in the Special 301 report, the statutory framework has some key weaknesses, and prosecutors and border enforcement agencies lack the resources to follow up every case of IPR piracy. Nevertheless, Canada, unlike China, has clear laws and a reliable judicial system that is relatively easy for U.S. businesses to navigate; with the availability of legal recourse, it is not necessary in most cases for companies to make major changes in their business models to avoid wholesale trademark or copyright theft by mainstream domestic producers. Moreover, most major U.S. content providers have affiliates in Canada and work closely with Canadian counterparts to develop joint enforcement actions and push for stronger legislation. For U.S. companies here, the highest priority is legislation to strengthen the statutory framework, including robust implementation of the WIPO internet treaties and better legal support for border enforcement. ¶4. (U) In the Canadian context, therefore, we would suggest developing a toolkit that gives smaller businesses an introductory explanation of how to protect their rights in Canada. Contents would include a basic list of statutes pertaining to IPR protection and Canadian government agencies (federal and provincial, e.g. the RCMP, Ontario provincial police and local prosecutors) that deal with IPR enforcement, with a list of primary points of contact in those agencies, together with a list of NGOs, copyright collectives, trade associations, specialized law firms, and other entities interested in IPR issues. We will also contact lawyers who work on IPR issues and see if we can develop case studies or other useful pointers for IPR rightsholders concerned about IPR theft. ¶5. (SBU) As part of its IPR action plan, the Mission continues to raise IPR issues as often and at as high a level as possible. The Ambassador has underscored the need for stronger IPR protections in his first meetings with Minister of Industry Bernier, Minister of Canadian Heritage Oda, and Trade Minister Emerson. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Sensenbrenner raised IPR in his meetings with the RCMP and the Justice Minister in April. Econ staff have met with the Parliamentary Secretaries for the Industry and Canadian Heritage Ministries and with officials from a number of Canadian agencies to make the case for a stronger WIPO QCanadian agencies to make the case for a stronger WIPO implementation bill. DHS officers work closely with the RCMP on an IPR-related investigations. The Mission IPR working group is planning a range of informational activities for fall 2006, when we hope that a new bill to implement the WIPO treaties will be submitted to Parliament. Drawing on the expertise of our DHS officers, we have also suggested to Canadian officials the need to strengthen enforcement rules before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, noting the likelihood of a wave of counterfeit Olympic-logo goods, a point that seems to resonate with some members of the new government. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS