Tri-Border and Argentina Public-Private Dialogue on

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001336 EB/TPP/IPE FOR RWATTS, RWALLACE AND CLACROSSE DEPT PLS PASS TO USTR JCGROVES, KDUCKWORTH DOC/ITA/MAC/OIPR FOR CATHERINE PETERS AND JENNIFER BOGER SAO PAULO FOR USPTO DMAZURKEVICH SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR ECON PREL ETRD AR SUBJECT: Tri-Border and Argentina Public-Private Dialogue on Intellectual Property REF: BUENOS AIRES 1302 07 BUENOS AIRES 1720 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Wayne Paugh, Department of Commerce Coordinator for International Intellectual Property (IP) Enforcement, delivered a positive message in support of IP protection during a series of events in Argentina. Paugh met with the Argentine Customs Director, where both emphasized the importance of information-sharing among countries to identify IP and other violations, supported AmCham efforts to increase public awareness of the value of IP protection for Argentina, and lauded Post's effort to better train Argentine law enforcement on IP crime investigation. Paugh also attended a ground-breaking public-private dialogue on IP enforcement which took place on the Argentine side of the tri-border area shared with Brazil and Paraguay. Paraguayan government participation was wide and included the Minster of Industry. Argentine and Brazilian government involvement was both less numerous and lower level, mainly working-level enforcement and prosecution. Paraguayan participants, public and private, expressed interest in working together more closely on IP enforcement; Argentine participants also did so, but new dialogue seems unlikely. End Summary. -------------- IPR Enforcement Coordinator With GoA Customs -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In a September 22 meeting with Paugh in Buenos Aires, Argentine Customs Director Silvina Tirabassi stressed the importance of information-sharing for her agency to operate effectively. She cited as a success story the Trade Transparency Unit (TTU) which exchanges data with their U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) counterparts on shipments between Argentina and the U.S., noting that such information was also helpful in monitoring shipments from Miami which were transiting Argentina en route to Paraguay or Brazil. Tirabassi expressed particular interest in obtaining such information from China, which she said would be an excellent tool to fight under-invoicing of Chinese imports. She cited her agency's successes in fighting intellectual property violations, noting increased seizures of counterfeit goods (which she attributed not only the Customs Trademark Fraud program - Ref A - but also to her Customs office receiving "ex officio" GoA authority in December 2005 to detain shipments pending a determination of their legitimacy). Tirabassi also noted IPR challenges, including the increasing quality of falsification of imported goods, which has made detection more difficult. Paugh commented that increased public/private dialogue was one of the goals of the TBA conference, and such activity could result in more training for Customs personnel to help identify counterfeit goods. ¶3. (SBU) Paugh also met in Buenos Aires with drafters of an IP enforcement manual (Ref B),the American Chamber of Commerce's IP Committee (AmCham),and the Charge d'Affaires, as well as had an interview with local press. With the manual drafters, he discussed strategies to ensure the manual is broadly distributed to relevant Argentine enforcement officials. Drafters decided to focus initially on getting the national police agencies (Federal Police, Prefectura, Gendarmeria) to formally approve the manual for official use by the agency, rather than trying to convince individual offices one by one. With the AmCham, Paugh discussed best practice strategies to create greater public awareness of the negative effects of IP violations, such as AmCham's annual IP conference and annual IP essay contest for students and young professionals. He suggested to the Charge that Post consider instituting an Ambassador's IPR Roundtable, on Embassy Beijing's model. Press coverage of Paugh's visit was quite positive, with articles in the two leading dailies and two other economic-focused dailies. -------------- Tri-Border IPR Conf: Public-Private Dialogue -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) hosted September 18-19 what is believed to be the first public-private, multi-country dialogue held in and focusing on IP violations in the tri-border area (TBA) where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. Participation in the conference, which took place in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, was varied, with high-level and numerous representatives of the Paraguayan government present, but fewer and lower-ranking Argentine and Brazilian officials. Employees of private companies from all three countries in the region, as well as the U.S. and much of Europe, also attended and participated. Paugh and EU officials were among the presenters. ¶5. (SBU) Paugh's presentation highlighted the importance of IP protection for the U.S. economy, and noted that because IP violations continue to increase, the best way to combat them is to cooperate more closely. He noted USG efforts acting alone, in partnership with the U.S. private sector, and jointly with trading partners - both government to government and private sector alone. As an example, he cited the first-ever joint US-EU Customs operation which took place in 2007 and snared 400 million counterfeit integrated circuits. Paugh opined that IP violations thrive where laws against them are weak, the issue is a low priority, or both. Luc Devigne, head of the European Commission's IP unit, mentioned an OECD report which estimates annual international trade in counterfeit goods at USD200 billion. He stated that the EU's strategy on IPR was to focus on bilateral cooperation, multilateral cooperation, capacity building, and cooperation with the private sector. John Taylor of the EC's Taxation and Customs Directorate was the other EU speaker, addressing challenges in EU border enforcement. -------------- -- Paraguay: Public Commitment to Fight Contraband -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) Paraguay had a strong presence from both public and private sector representatives, with meaningful presentations in the legal, enforcement, and IPR policy areas. Paraguay's Minister of Industry and Commerce, Martin Heisecke, spoke and publicly renewed his commitment to fight piracy and contraband. District Attorney for Ciudad del Este Eber Ovelar emphasized the legal weaknesses in Paraguay, making explicit mention of the inadequate enforcement of Paraguay's Customs Office. Paraguayan Director of IPR Policy Carlos Rufinelli outlined his plan to increase the transparency in and improve the negative image of the trademark and registration office. Rufinelli was candid about the operational capacity limitations in his office, and asked for support from private sector. The head of the IPR Special Investigative Unit (UTE),Coronel Cruz, raised the need for private sector support to train experts in identifying counterfeited and pirated goods. He also described problems with the way in which expert witnesses are selected and used in Paraguay. The argument for expert witness competence in the private sector was echoed by Ovelar. Paraguayan officials projected a visible commitment to address IPR issues and fight piracy and contraband, and offered a balanced perspective of GoP strengths and weaknesses. ¶7. (SBU) Despite several attempts, mainly initiated by private sector players, to establish public-private sector partnerships, Paraguay currently lacks a general strategic plan for private sector participation in IPR enforcement. The event provided a tangible venue for Paraguayan officials to begin discussions with private sector representatives to develop such a strategy. One of the recommendations was to host a similar event at the country level, and Paraguayan officials present expressed great interest in the initiative. -------------- -- Argentina, Brazil, Private Sector Contributions -------------- -- ¶8. (SBU) Argentine and Brazilian government participation was at a lower level; GoA presentations were by Fabian Di Risio, the head of Argentine Customs' Trademark Fraud Unit, and Juan Carlos Tesoriero, a federal prosecutor who works in the province of Misiones (where the conference was held). Di Risio highlighted recent successes of Customs' programs; Tesoriero echoed those claims. Tesoriero also argued that a prosecutorial unit specializing in IP crimes would be beneficial, that Argentina also had a need for better system to choose expert witnesses, inter-government agency cooperation had much room for improvement, and that industry could help more by initiating more cases and cooperating to collect evidence. The GoB was represented by Director of Compliance for Receita Federal (Brazilian Tax and Customs agency) Mauro Brito, who presented success stories in the TBA but not challenges faced, and by two federal police officials, both of whom displayed videos showing recent IP seizures. ¶9. (SBU) Other presentations included an analysis of the legal regime in Paraguay by Hugo Mersan, the head of the Paraguayan Association of Trademark Agents, and in Argentina by Roberto Porcel, a long-time trademark attorney who is currently the Undersecretary for Planning in the Health Ministry of the Province of Buenos Aires; a primer on forensic science by an Interpol officer and a former Scotland Yard detective; discussion of asset tracing for civil proceedings by the Latin America Anti-piracy Coordinator for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and a private attorney from New York; and presentations on private sector technical assistance capabilities. ¶10. (SBU) TABD organizers asked Econoff to lead a break-out group of about 15 participants which focused on strategies to improve customs and enforcement issues, and the importance of proper forensics techniques for building a criminal case; Econoff presented a summary of the discussion to all participants. Other break-out groups analyzed global and regional IP challenges, the legal environment, and an EU case study. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue conference broke new ground by bringing together public officials and the private sector from the three countries of the TBA - as well as the U.S. and EU - to focus on IP violations in the region. It appears likely that expanded public-private dialogue in Paraguay - which sent the highest level and most robust delegation - will result. Brazil, however, already has a forum for such activity, the National Council to Combat Piracy and Intellectual Property Crimes (CNCP),which is chaired by the federal government. In Argentina, the government agency which has shown the most support for IP protection, Customs, already has a monthly dialogue with the private sector on how to improve its IP enforcement efforts. Improving Argentine IP enforcement capacity continues to depend largely on the private sector, and Paugh's visit supported both Post and AmCham efforts to increase that capacity, as well as helped to increase public awareness of the benefits. ¶12. (U) This cable was coordinated with the IP Officer in Asuncion and USPTO's Regional IP Officer in Rio de Janeiro, both of whom attended the conference; Paugh was unable to clear the cable. KELLY