Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07NICOSIA323
2007-04-16 10:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Nicosia
Cable title:  

CYPRUS: IPR WORKSHOP IN TURKISH CYPRIOT COMMUNITY

Tags:  KIPR ECON ETRD EUN CY 
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RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4927
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UNCLAS NICOSIA 000323 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EB/IPC AND EUR/SE

DEPT PLS PASS TO USTR, USPTO AND LOC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD EUN CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: IPR WORKSHOP IN TURKISH CYPRIOT COMMUNITY
HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR STRONG IPR ENFORCEMENT

REFS: A) Nicosia 153 B) 05 Nicosia 1855

(U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000323

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EB/IPC AND EUR/SE

DEPT PLS PASS TO USTR, USPTO AND LOC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD EUN CY
SUBJECT: CYPRUS: IPR WORKSHOP IN TURKISH CYPRIOT COMMUNITY
HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR STRONG IPR ENFORCEMENT

REFS: A) Nicosia 153 B) 05 Nicosia 1855

(U) This cable is sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: Around 25 Turkish Cypriots professionals,
members of Turkish IPR NGOs, representatives of international
business associations and leading Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot
IPR lawyers discussed ways to improve IPR enforcement in the Turkish
Cypriot community during a March 30 seminar co-sponsored by the U.S.
Embassy and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce. Currently,
Turkish Cypriot legislation on IPR is spotty and antiquated (dating
to the UK Colonial era) and rarely enforced. Piracy is
well-established and accepted. Pirated CDs and DVDs, as well as
counterfeit merchandise, are the norm. As a result of the seminar,
a major Turkish IPR NGO committed to doing public outreach in the
Turkish Cypriot community and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of
Commerce promised to lobby for modern IPR legislation. The workshop
followed a similar seminar sponsored by the Embassy in the Turkish
Cypriot Community in November 2005. (Note: the U.S. does not
recognize the self-proclaimed "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."
To reflect this, any references to "TRNC" bodies are placed in
quotation marks. End note.) End Summary.

First Seminar on IPR in north Cyprus
--------------

2. (SBU) On March 30, the Embassy's Economic and Commercial Section
and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce organized a workshop on
IPR issues in the area of Cyprus administered by Turkish Cypriots.
(Septel will report on a larger seminar that was held March 29 in
the government-controlled area.) The seminar attracted over 25
professionals including the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, officials from the Turkish
Cypriot "Registrar's office" who are drafting new trademark
legislation, and leading Turkish Cypriot, Turkish and Greek Cypriot
IPR lawyers. A Greek sportswear representative was also in
attendance.


3. (SBU) The Ambassador opened the event by highlighting the
advantages to the Turkish Cypriot Community of strong IPR

enforcement. A main theme of his remarks was that weak IPR
enforcement was not a result of Turkish Cypriot economic isolation
but a contributing factor to this isolation.


4. (SBU) Moderator and leading Turkish Cypriot IPR lawyer Sefika
Durduran noted that the Turkish Cypriot Community had made little
progress on IPR enforcement since our November 2005 conference.
Judges were more sensitive to IPR issues, the Turkish Registrar's
office had provided training to its Turkish Cypriot counterpart, and
the Turkish Cypriot authorities had begun drafting a new trademarks
law. Nevertheless, the authorities have yet to introduce any new
IPR legislation to replace the current spotty laws on IPR, most of
which dated back to UK colonial times.


5. (SBU) Durduran reported that it was almost impossible to find
non-pirated CDs, DVDs, or software on the market. Local
manufacturers produced pirated sportswear and jeans. Other
counterfeit items flood in unhindered from abroad. Local TV paid no
royalties or licensing fees, even to local artists. The manager of
a local cinema noted that his business was severely undercut by
local TV stations that often broadcast new movies, not to mention
the local DVD shops that would sell pirated tapes of films the
instant they hit the cinemas anywhere in the world. All of this was
preventing the Turkish Cypriot entertainment and software industries
from developing, inhibiting innovation and discouraging foreign
investment.


6. (SBU) UK High Commission officer and former IPR lawyer David Reed
outlined EU IPR legislation, which the Turkish Cypriot Community
will be required to meet as soon as there is a settlement and the
Turkish Cypriot Community joins the EU as part of a united Cyprus.
Participants noted that this would come as a big shock to many
Turkish Cypriot businesses and there was no reason to wait for a
settlement before implementing these norms. Business Software
Alliance spokesman Aly Harakeh from Lebanon outlined the benefits of
strong IPR enforcement to economic development and noted that
international professional associations are willing to help the

Turkish Cypriot Community improve its IPR record.


7. (SBU) Ahmet Asena Secretary General of the Turkish Professional
Association for Phonogram Makers (Mu-Yap -- the Turkish AFPI
affiliate) and Vehbi Kahveci from the Turkish Association of
Registered Trademarks briefed the group on IPR improvements in
Turkey. Turkey now has sound IPR legislation. Due to weak
enforcement, however, Turkey does not yet meet U.S. or international
IPR standards. As a result, Turkish businesses lose over USD 4.5
billion annually. Nevertheless, Turkish legislation could serve as
a model for the Turkish Cypriot Community. Turkish Cypriot piracy
was also having a negative effect on Turkey through illegal
retransmission of Turkish Cypriot television and the widespread
copying and sale of Turkish music and films.


8. (SBU) Asena also noted in private that our invitation to
participate in the seminar had prompted Mu-Yap to decide to visit
the Turkish Cypriot community for the first time. Mu-Yap was now
committed to becoming active in the Turkish Cypriot community.
Asena and other representatives of Mu-Yap had spent the day prior to
the workshop lobbying key members of the Turkish Cypriot
administration, several of whom they knew personally from
university. Asena also noted the possibility of bringing Turkish
music and film stars to the Turkish Cypriot community either as part
of a public awareness campaign or to personally lobby key Turkish
Cypriot decision-makers. Turkish representatives of several
international sportswear firms also expressed interest in engaging
the large Turkish student population present in north Cyprus.


9. (SBU) A leading Greek Cypriot lawyer gave a presentation on the
IPR situation in the government-controlled area of Cyprus. Republic
of Cyprus legislation was another model the Turkish Cypriots could
adopt. The Greek Cypriot legislation was particularly relevant as
it was adopted and updated from the same British colonial
legislation that the Turkish Cypriot community is currently using.
We noted a third model was the nine IPR-related laws that formed
part of the Annan plan and which had been negotiated by the
Annan-plan era bicommunal technical committees. In short, model
legislation existed. The Turkish Cypriot community now needed to
demonstrate the political will to adopt, implement and enforce these
laws. President of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce Erdil
Nami committed to lobby the authorities in favor of stronger IPR
laws.

Comment:
--------------

10. (SBU) The low turnout -- only around 25 people -- was
disappointing and indicative of the challenge of introducing strong
IPR enforcement to the Turkish Cypriot community. Unlike the
seminar in November 2005, those who did attend were already
convinced of the merits of strong IPR, and thus we avoided focusing
exclusively on why IPR is important -- the issue that dominated our
first seminar. The audience, however, was not very representative
of Turkish Cypriot society as a whole. Those who favor stronger IPR
laws are a small minority, and most Turkish Cypriots have no qualms
about purchasing or illegally copying intellectual property.
Nevertheless, several positive developments emerged from the
workshop:

-- We again put IPR in the Turkish Cypriot Community on the agenda
and highlighted the need for change.

-- A major Turkish IPR NGO is now active in the Turkish Cypriot
Community and will continue to lobby for positive changes. This may
include the use of Turkish music and film stars.

-- The President of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce is on
record as not only supporting stronger IPR legislation and
enforcement but as being willing to lobby for it.

-- Turkish Cypriots, Turks, Greek Cypriots and a Greek were all
willing to sit around the same table to discuss ways to improve the
IPR environment.

-- Leading Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot IPR lawyers now know
each other and have shown a willingness to cooperate toward a better
IPR environment island-wide.


SCHLICHER