WE'RE STILL SPECIAL - 301 WATCH LIST POINTS DELIVERED TO

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 000646 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/TPP/IPE BOGER AND URBAN STATE FOR SCA/CEN STATE PLS PASS NSC MCKIBBEN STATE PLS PASS USTR DONNELLY, ERRION, JCHOE-GROVES, MCCOY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR TI SUBJECT: WE'RE STILL SPECIAL - 301 WATCH LIST POINTS DELIVERED TO TAJIK OFFICIALS REF: STATE 056553; DUSHANBE 06 2107 ¶1. Post delivered talking points in Reftel A to Tajik government officials April 30 regarding Tajikistan's maintaining its "Watch List" status on the Special 301 Report for 2007. EconOffs personally delivered points to Alisher Karimov, Deputy Head of Customs Control in the Customs Service and Gennady Koupai, First Deputy Director of the National Patent Information Center, Ministry of Economy and Trade. In addition, post is delivering the translated points via dipnote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ¶2. Tajikistan got a head-start on next year's Special 301 report by signing into law on March 27 new measures that Koupai claims will bring Tajikistan's IPR regime into conformity with the TRIPS agreement. The government is currently translating the legislation into English. ¶3. The Customs Service has moved from the Ministry of State Revenues and Tax Collection to a stand-alone agency, and Karimov reiterated his request (Reftel B) for support to train and equip customs officials for intellectual property rights enforcement. Koupai recently traveled to the U.S. on a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office program on intellectual property rights, and is an excellent interlocutor on patent and copyright issues. He expressed satisfaction at Tajikistan's placement on the 301 Watch List, and expressed thanks to the U.S. government for its support on intellectual property rights issues. ¶4. While Tajikistan has passed significant new legislation over the past year to protect intellectual property, Tajikistan has taken few practical steps to enforce the legislation and defend intellectual property rights. Several crackdowns on local CD shops notwithstanding, local authorities have few resources to go after violators, and can use USG assistance in training and equipping Ministry of Interior and Customs Service officers. JACOBSON