UKRAINE: IPR ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION GROUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KYIV 000821 SIPDIS SIPDIS ///////////////////////////////////////////// //////// C O R R E C T E D COPY - SUBJECT LINE CHANGED ///////////////////////////////////////////// /////// STATE FOR EUR/UMB AND EB/TPP/IPE STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR BURKHEAD/GROVES USDOC FOR 4201/DOC/ITA/MAC/BISNIS USDOC FOR 4231/ITA/OEENIS/NISD/CLUCYCK SOFIA FOR MLAMBERTI E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR ECON UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: IPR ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION GROUP DISCUSSES COPYRIGHT ISSUES REFS: A) KYIV 528 B) KYIV 503 C) 2007 KYIV 2865 and previous D) 2007 KYIV 1888 E) 2007 KYIV 1205 KYIV 00000821 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. Summary: GOU, Embassy and industry representatives discussed copyright issues and GOU inter-agency cooperation at an April 23 Enforcement Cooperation Group (ECG) meeting. The GOU officials present agreed to push for a Cabinet of Ministers Resolution to raise the stature of the government's IPR Coordination Council and to improve inter- agency cooperation. Industry reps supported the initiative and asked to be included in future Coordination Council meetings. Reps from the recording, film, and software industries raised problems of concern to them and proposed steps for the GOU to improve enforcement. Deputy Econ Counselor highlighted copyright-related issues of particular USG concern, and urged the GOU to develop an Action Plan to address outstanding problems. End Summary. ¶2. On April 23 Ukraine's State Department of Intellectual Property (SDIP) hosted the seventh meeting of the IPR Enforcement Cooperation Group (ECG),with participation of numerous industry representatives. (Note: See Ref C for previous ECG meetings. End Note.) The ECG meeting was held in conjunction with a meeting of the GOU's inter- agency IPR Coordination Council and focused primarily on copyright issues. (Note: Appropriately enough, April 23 happened to be the UN's World Book and Copyright Day. End note.) ¶3. The following is a list of key participants: GOU --- Valentin Chebotaryov - Deputy Chairman, SDIP Sergiy Nikulesko - Head of IP Inspectors, SDIP Serhiy Lebid - Deputy Head of Economic Crimes Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs Oleksandr Pashynnyi - Head of Trade Policy Department, State Customs Service Vadim Vnukov - Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Oleksiy Tymchenko - State Tax Administration Olena Pavlenko - Kyiv City Administration Industry -------------- Ignat Berezhny - Ukrainian Association of the Music Industry (IFPI affiliate) Vladislav Shapoval - LEXFOR Legal Services (representing the Business Software Alliance - BSA) Daniil Klyuchnikov - Microsoft Ukraine Vladimir Iling - Ukrainian Anti-Piracy Association (representing the Motion Picture Association - MPA) -------------- Inter-Agency Cooperation -------------- ¶4. Chebotaryov and other GOU officials focused throughout the meeting on the need to improve inter-agency cooperation in the area of IPR enforcement. Chebotaryov criticized the GOU Coordination Council as being less than fully effective. To remedy the situation, Chebotaryov proposed that the group push for a Cabinet of Ministers Resolution to raise the profile of the body and require that it be chaired by a Deputy Prime Minister. Such a revamped Coordination Council would have the necessary clout to bolster IPR enforcement efforts, he said. (Note: SDIP unsuccessfully pushed for a similar resolution in 2007. End note.) Chebotaryov noted that SDIP had already drafted the relevant decree but that the Ministry of Justice was resisting. ¶5. Representatives of the various government agencies in attendance agreed on the need to push the issue to the level of the Cabinet of Ministers. Lebid argued that representatives of the judiciary and the Prosecutor General's Office should also be included in Coordination KYIV 00000821 002.2 OF 003 Council meetings, since they play a critical role in enforcement. Vnukov suggested that interested parties approach the President's Office should they face resistance within the Cabinet. Chebotaryov added that local officials should also be more involved in such IPR coordination meetings, and asked Pavlenko to pass this request to the appropriate authorities within the Kyiv City Administration. ¶6. Iling and Berezhny promised to lend their support to SDIP's proposal to increase the stature of the Coordination Council and requested that industry representatives be included in future meetings of the body. Chebotaryov, while not rejecting the idea out of hand, said he was afraid to open the meetings completely. Too many industry participants could make Coordination Council meetings unwieldy and ineffective, he said, and if they opened the meeting to any industry reps, they would have to open it to all. Berezhny responded by encouraging Chebotaryov to find some alternative mechanism to include industry in the coordination process. -------------- Problematic Copyright Issues -------------- ¶7. Deputy Econ Counselor praised the GOU for its recent accomplishments on IPR enforcement and called for continued progress on copyright-related areas of particular USG concern: rampant software piracy and continued government use of unlicensed software (ref E); open-air markets in large cities (ref D); internet piracy (ref D); public performance piracy and problems of collective management (ref A); and the CD/DVD hologram sticker program (ref B). Software -------------- ¶8. Chebotaryov recognized that the government's use of unlicensed software set a bad example for society and promised that SDIP was "seriously working" with the government to rectify the problem. The main obstacle was securing the necessary budget funding, which meant substantial progress was possible only over several years time, he said. Shapoval called for changes to the Criminal Code to criminalize the use, not just buying and selling, of pirated software. Shapoval also complained that the GOU had failed to bring a single court case against the head of a company using pirated software. Klyuchnikov briefed on Microsoft's and BSA's ongoing IPR outreach campaign in the regions, and asked for GOU support in getting better participation from local government officials. Recording/Film Industry Issues -------------- ¶9. Chebotaryov also briefed on steps to improve collective management and the hologram sticker program, as agreed with industry at a recent meeting hosted by the European Commission (refs A-B). Berezhny encouraged the GOU to step up enforcement efforts to reduce physical piracy at markets. He also argued that amendments to the Criminal Code were needed to clarify that internet piracy be treated as severely as more traditional forms of piracy, and to reduce some of the evidentiary burden on rights holders and law enforcement when bringing IPR cases to court. Iling urged the GOU to stop pirates from video recording movies in Ukrainian cinemas. He also highlighted internet piracy as a major concern for the film industry, which he said could provide some technical assistance to GOU investigators on the subject. -------------- Action Plan -------------- ¶10. Deputy Econ Counselor encouraged the GOU to develop an Action Plan in order to tackle outstanding IPR problems and said the USG would be anxious to discuss the details of a plan at the appropriate time. Chebotaryov noted that, if they succeeded in raising the level of the IPR Coordination Council, the revamped body would likely want to develop a joint Action Plan as one of its first tasks. KYIV 00000821 003.2 OF 003 TAYLOR