Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TALLINN138
2007-03-02 15:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Tallinn
Cable title:  

ESTONIA LOSING KEY INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR IPR

Tags:  ETRD KIPR ECON EN 
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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTL #0138/01 0611548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021548Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9589
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 5175
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 2858
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 6612
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2476
UNCLAS TALLINN 000138 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EEB/TTP/IPE AND FOR EUR/NB
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR Laurie Molnar
DOC PLEASE PASS USPTO Robert Stoll

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KIPR ECON EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA LOSING KEY INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR IPR
PROTECTION

Ref: A) TALLINN 66 B) TALLINN 112

UNCLAS TALLINN 000138

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EEB/TTP/IPE AND FOR EUR/NB
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR Laurie Molnar
DOC PLEASE PASS USPTO Robert Stoll

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KIPR ECON EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA LOSING KEY INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR IPR
PROTECTION

Ref: A) TALLINN 66 B) TALLINN 112


1. (U) Action request; please see paragraph 5.


2. (U) Summary: Loss of funding from the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
(IFPI) will likely result in the closing of Estonia's
only anti-piracy NGO, the Estonian Organization for
Copyright Protection (EOCP),which provides invaluable
training and educational services for police and other
GOE officials. EOCP frequently contributes expert
testimony in IPR court cases in Estonia, and acts in
place of industries that do not have local
representation. The U.S. audio/video industry stands
to lose one of its strongest advocates in the region,
and may lose market share to increased piracy as well.
End Summary.


3. (U) The Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA),through its international counterpart the MPA,
has announced it will withdraw critical funding for
EOCP, one of Estonia's most active NGOs working in the
field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) education
and enforcement. This small but effective NGO,
established by the MPA in 1998, represents industry and
artists in the fight against piracy and copyright
infringement. It is the only anti-piracy organization
in Estonia and provides GOE agencies with an especially
valuable source of expertise on fighting IPR violations
in the digital environment and on the internet. EOCP
staff have partnered with Embassy Tallinn to provide
training to police, judges and prosecutors in Estonia
and throughout the Baltic region, including during
several recent seminars in Tallinn sponsored by the
local AmCham IPR Committee and the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). (Ref A)


4. (SBU) According to Erik Mandre, EOCP's Managing
Director, the MPA has decided to give up its membership
in EOCP effective May 1, 2007, and therefore will
withdraw their funding as of that date. MPA's annual
contribution of USD $36,500 amounts to roughly one-
third of EOCP's annual budget, the loss of which Mandre
feels will force EOCP to close their doors. Brendan
Hudson, Vice President (Anti-Piracy) in MPA's Brussels

office, confirmed to Econoff MPA's plan to withdraw
from EOCP. Hudson stated that MPA is "reassessing
current practices" and moving toward a more "world-
wide" allocation of resources. Only a few months
before, the International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry (IFPI) also informed EOCP that
they had decided to cut an equivalent amount of
funding. Thus, in short order, one of Estonia's most
active and effective anti-piracy NGOs faces the loss of
two-thirds of its annual budget. Contributions from
local members provide the remainder of EOCP's budget.
Since the domestic industry in Estonia is extremely
small, the MPA and the IFPI were the main contributors.
The EOCP has reduced its work-force to three employees
already, and with the loss of MPA funds, Mandre
estimates the organization will probably not survive
more than 90 days.


5. (SBU) Since its establishment, the EOCP has
developed a successful liaison relationship with police
and customs officials, organizing raids, giving expert
opinion on seized goods, and arranging training for
law-enforcement agencies. EOCP is also instrumental in
the fight against Internet piracy - the biggest IPR
challenge in Estonia. In 2006, EOCP closed 2,080
Internet sites involved in illegal IPR-infringing
activity and removed 29,676 bootleg files from local
public file transfer protocol (FTP) servers. The EOCP
also belongs to the IPR expert committee of the
Ministry of Culture and participates in drafting and
lobbying for firmer IPR regimes. As very few IP rights
holders maintain local offices in Estonia, EOCP has
powers-of-attorney with many industry groups to
represent them in court cases where infringement of
their rights is alleged. In short, EOCP's activities

have a powerful multiplier effect throughout Estonian
society and beyond, through its ability to leverage
expertise at many levels of the GOE, and with education
for the public at large.


6. (SBU) The EOCP estimates that closing down their
anti-piracy operations could result in the loss up to
40 percent of legitimate audio/video sales to the black
market. This estimate is based on EOCP data that MPAA
and the International Intellectual Property Alliance
(IIPA) routinely use in their annual reports.


7. (U) Action Request: Post asks that Washington
Agencies engage with MPAA and urge reconsideration of
this decision. The issue of copyright, trademark and
patent protection is a shared interest for both the USG
and private industry. Both U.S. and Estonian law
enforcement bodies frequently stress that digital
piracy is a growing threat, with the potential to
attract organized crime because of relatively low risks
and high profit margins associated with it. The work
of the EOCP has been instrumental to Estonia's success
in protecting IPR. For six years, Estonia is the only
Baltic country that has not been included in the USTR
Special 301 list. If the EOCP is forced to close
because of the withdrawal of MPAA and IFPI support, the
U.S. audio/video industry will lose one of its
strongest advocates in the region, and may lose market
share to increased piracy as well.

GOLDSTEIN