IPR: JUSTICE MINISTER AGREES TO HELP

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001984

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR ESAUNS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR IS GOI INTERNAL ECONOMY AND FINANCE
SUBJECT: IPR: JUSTICE MINISTER AGREES TO HELP



1. (SBU) Minister of Justice Haim Ramon told the Ambassador
May 16 that he would try to play a constructive role in
addressing USG concerns about protection of intellectual
property rights. Ambassador Jones expressed USG concern
about Israel's poor performance in protecting the patents of
U.S. pharmaceutical products, among other American exports,
which led USTR to place Israel on its priority watch list for
the second year in a row.


2. (SBU) The Ambassador also stressed the importance of
Israel enforcing the norm of "national treatment," by
guaranteeing that American copyright holders receive the same
treatment in Israeli markets that Israeli rights holders
receive. He then asked Ramon to make passage of the draft
copyright bill a high priority for the new Knesset. Ramon
said that he will chair the May 21 government legislative
committee meeting that will decide which bills from the
former Knesset will advance to the new Knesset under the "law
on legislative continuity." "We will approve it" for
consideration by the new Knesset, Ramon said. Ramon then
asked to receive "a paper on all U.S. government concerns on
copyright issues, in its broadest aspect." In coordination
with USTR, Post plans to provide this paper to Ramon on May

22.


3. (SBU) Other issues covered in the meeting -- including
convergence, illegal outposts, trafficking in persons, Magen
David Adom, and nationality and entry -- are covered in
septels.

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JONES