ITALY IPR: EMBASSY HOSTED VIDEO WEBCHAT UNITES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 001486

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB A/S SULLIVAN, EB/TPP/IPE JOELLEN URBAN, CANDY
GREEN, JENNIFER BOGER
STATE PASS USTR FOR JAMES SANFORD, PAUL BURKHEAD, RACHEL
BAE, JENNIFER CHOE GROVES, VICTORIA ESPINEL, STAN MCCOY,
CHRISTOPHER WILSON
DOC PASS USPTO AND LOCSTEP
DOJ FOR DAAG LAURA PARSKY
DHS PASS ICE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD EINV KIPR IT
SUBJECT: ITALY IPR: EMBASSY HOSTED VIDEO WEBCHAT UNITES
UNIONS AND LARGE INDUSTRY IN CALL FOR ENHANCED IPR
PROTECTION

REF: A. ROME 1217


B. ROME 337

C. 06 ROME 3334

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1. SUMMARY: Embassy Rome recently hosted a live on-line
conversation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) between a
top representative from Italy's largest labor union and
another from its preeminent industry association--a first.
Over the course of an hour, both presenters emphasized the
damage that IPR piracy does to Italian labor and business.
The industry rep noted that piracy distorts competition,
cripples small business, and presents hazard and quality
problems to consumers. The union rep fervently denounced
piracy/counterfeiting, flagging legitimate job losses in both
manufacturing and sales. Strikingly, the union representative
even questioned Italian industry's commitment to IPR
protection. Both agreed that the expectation of compensation
drives creativity and innovation and called for better
enforcement of existing IPR law. END SUMMARY.


2. On June 15, a top representative from CGIL (Italy's
largest and most leftist labor union with over five million
members) and another from Confindustria (Italy's large
industry association) discussed IPR live via Embassy Rome's
website. Often on opposite sides of issues, this was an
unprecedented collaboration. Both speakers supported
effective protection for IPR in Italy, and emphasized the
value IPR holds for Italian business, labor, and society.
This event continued Mission Italy's efforts to enhance IPR's
public profile and secure political support for enhanced
enforcement of IPR laws.


3. This on-line webchat is part of a web-based public
affairs program known as "Face to Face," which is an integral
part of Ambassador Spogli's Partnership for Growth
initiative. In this forum, web viewers pose questions
directly to presenters on-line via e-mails to the Embassy's
website, which the presenters answer in real time. This
webchat aimed to reach an audience of labor union members and
business people, who had been notified by their respective
organizations about the event. In this way the Embassy was
able to communicate the detrimental impact piracy has on both
industry and the job market in a convenient, cost-effective
manner. Over 200 work stations tuned into the Embassy
website for the discussion, which stretched existing capacity
of our internet connection. After the event, we learned that
a number of other viewers were not able to access the webchat
because our bandwidth would not support it. However, we also
understand that actual viewership was larger than indicated
by band-width capacity, given that unions provided general
access to members at many offices. The presentation is now
archived on our website, available for new viewers to watch
the recorded version.


4. The webchat speakers were Valeria Fedeli, Secretary
General of FILTEA, CGIL's Textile Union, and one of Italy's
30 most influential women (according to a recent poll
conducted by Italy's largest circulation daily Il Corriere
della Sera),and Marco Felisati, coordinator of
Confindustria's anti-piracy committee. In a lively 1-hour
plus conversation, both underscored the damage that piracy
and counterfeiting do to Italian labor and business, and the
benefits that IPR protection and awareness offer Italian
society.


5. Felisati noted that intellectual piracy distorts
competition and makes it very difficult for small and medium
sized companies to stay in business. He described the
substandard quality that characterizes most
pirated/counterfeited goods, and pointed to the potential
health and safety hazards caused by counterfeit products.
Felisati noted that in Italy, not only the sale, but also the
purchase of counterfeit goods, is illegal. He called for
effective and realistic sanctions (Note: Current fines

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available to law enforcement personnel are very high, leading
to a reluctance to impose them.) against purchasers of
counterfeit products as a way to reduce the phenomenon, as
well as adequate prosecution of Italy's already extant IPR
laws. Felisati's discussion was articulate, well-argued, and
fully supported effective IPR protection.


6. CGIL's Fedeli has become a firm, if initially unexpected,
ally in the Embassy's efforts to advocate improved IPR
protection in Italy (refs A and B). In this discussion she
was possibly more vehement than Felisati, calling for strong
recognition of the value of IPR, and better protection of
IPR. She took issue with illegal street vending of
counterfeit products in particular, holding that it can no
longer be tolerated--not only because of the significant
impact on jobs in the legal economy. She also noted a heavy
social cost of piracy, maintaining that vendors are often
illegal immigrants who are manipulated by organized crime and
deprived of many basic employment and social benefits.


7. Both Fedeli and Felisati highlighted the principle that
just compensation for creativity and innovation is a
necessary incentive for entrepreneurs and innovators, who are
crucial to Italy's economic growth and job creation. They
called for promotion of a culture that places greater value
on IPR, and expressed strong support for "IPR education"
programs starting in schools and becoming integral part of
university curricula.


8. In the only confrontational moment, Fedeli argued that
Confindustria associates do not support IPR well enough. She
stated that businesses must work more effectively to
disseminate information about the perils of piracy, and must
collaborate more effectively with GOI and labor unions to
reduce the level of piracy and counterfeiting in Italy.


9. COMMENT: Often confrontational on many economic issues,
these two representatives of large industry and Italy's
largest union are collaborating on IPR protection. Fedeli's
and Felisati's involvement in this on-line webchat
accomplished several objectives: it provided another
occasion to call for enhanced IPR protection in a new
context, and allowed us to reach a significant number of
viewers using already available resources. Further, by
featuring a union leader, we were able to reach a part of
Italian society not ordinarily interested in or in favor of
IPR issues (union members). We view union buy-in and an
energized industry association, combined with recent
encouraging GOI actions to raise the level of public
discourse on IPR (ref C),as real breakthroughs in the effort
to get Italy to take IPR seriously. END COMMENT.
BORG