JORDAN CRACKS DOWN ON PIRACY WITH MORE JAIL SENTENCES AND

UNCLAS AMMAN 000332 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/TPP/IPE, NEA/ELA, NEA/RA STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR (GROVES) STATE PLEASE PASS TO AID COMMERCE PLEASE PASS TO USPTO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR PGOV JO SUBJECT: JORDAN CRACKS DOWN ON PIRACY WITH MORE JAIL SENTENCES AND RAIDS Ref: 07 Amman 3815 ¶1. (U) In 2007, Jordan's National Library Department (NLD) referred 357 cases of IPR violations to the courts, bringing the total number of cases since 2000 to 1,936. Jordanian courts have become increasingly stricter with IPR crimes by issuing more jail sentences and higher fines (Reftel). ¶2. (SBU) Last year, an NLD inspection led to the arrest of an Amman street vendor selling primarily bootlegged DVDs, as well as some pirated music and software. Jordanian Judge Nihad al-Hisban, a recipient of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) training, issued a three-year jail sentence and JD 3,000 ($3,846) fine for the individual, found guilty of piracy. The defendant challenged the ruling, but the Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in January 2008, decreasing the sentence to one-year in jail and a JD 1,000 fine ($1,412). ¶3. (U) The NLD has also confiscated dozens of satellite receivers and decoders in the past year. Most recently, the National Library referred owners of two coffee shops to the district attorney for illegal cable use. The NLD raided the venues after receiving complaints that they were broadcasting soccer games without a proper agreement with a service provider, an act which breaches Jordan's Copyright Law. NLD Director General Mamoun Talhouni has indicated that many in Jordan receive illegally pirated channels, either through specially designed receivers or other components that decode signals. Talhouni has called on border and customs officials to do more to prevent the devices entry into the country. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Jordan's National Library continues to operate with a meager six-person inspection staff which is responsible for enforcing the copyright law throughout the entire country. Despite an obvious lack of resources, they continue, under Talhouni's leadership, to focus on problem areas and promote public awareness of the importance of respecting intellectual property rights. Talhouni has indicated to Econoff that the NLD's 2008 budget includes funding for two additional inspectors, whom he hopes to hire this year in order to bolster the NLD's enforcement capacity. Visit Amman's classified website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Rubinstein