OMAN RESPONSE TO SPECIAL 301 REVIEW

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000152

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/TPP/MTA/IPC
STATE PASS USTR FOR JBUNTIN
COMMERCE FOR ITA THOFFMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON KIPR ETRD MU
SUBJECT: OMAN RESPONSE TO SPECIAL 301 REVIEW

REF: STATE 9475

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Summary
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1. (SBU) The Omani government continues to take steps to
protect intellectual property, evidenced both by its
revisions to its IPR regime in advance of implementation of
the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA),and its
collaborative work with the USG and the private sector.
Given these efforts, Embassy recommends that Oman not be
placed on the "Watch List" or the "Special Mention List" for

2008. End Summary.

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Advancing IPR
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2. (U) The Omani government has worked extensively with USG
counterparts during the course of 2007 to revise its already
strong intellectual property regime in advance of the
implementation of the FTA. The government is finalizing its
industrial property and copyright laws, which will provide
increased IPR protection for copyrights, trademarks,
geographical indications, and patents. Oman will also
improve enforcement and protection of undisclosed test data
from unfair commercial use. Both revised laws, which
included input from the USG, are undergoing final review with
the Ministry of Legal Affairs before they are promulgated by
Royal Decree. The government has drafted, again with
significant USG input, optical disc regulations and a
government use of software decree in order to meet FTA
obligations. In addition, the government is in the process
of acceding to those intellectual property conventions as
specified in Article 15 of the FTA.

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Working with the USG
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3. (U) The Omani government welcomes technical assistance
programs to enhance its intellectual property protection
efforts. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has
held a number of successful intellectual property rights
(IPR) seminars, the most recent being workshops on broadcast
and optical disc piracy, as well as border enforcement, in
February 2008. Over 40 officials from the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal
Oman Police, Ministry of Information, and the Office of the
Public Prosecutor attended. Workshop participants were
knowledgeable about the issues concerning the two topics and
readily engaged USPTO officials. These workshops followed
well-attended USPTO seminars in both January and December
2006 for judges, prosecutors, investigators and customs
officials. Furthermore, the Omani government regularly
nominates officials for participation in USPTO-sponsored
programs at its headquarters in Alexandria.

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Working with the Private Sector
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4. (U) The Omani government is engaged with the private
sector on supporting intellectual property rights. On
computer software usage, the Omani government is in the midst
of a three-year agreement with Microsoft for the desktop use
of the company's licensed products. As a component of the
relationship, Microsoft provides training to the intellectual
property division at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It also is investing in training programs for government
employees and the general community. Most recently,
Microsoft and the Information Technology Authority signed an
agreement to provide on-line services to 650,000 students in
Oman. The government is partnering with Cisco systems in
developing a framework for e-government services.


5. (U) The government conducts periodic sweeps of the market
in efforts to confiscate counterfeit goods. In January 2008,
the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Royal Oman
Police confiscated over 8,000 pirated discs from retailers.
This effort follows others that have netted as many as 40,000
pirated discs. Furthermore, in 2007, the Royal Oman Police
worked with Estee Lauder to remove counterfeit creams from
storefronts in Ruwi, a principal commercial district of
Muscat.


6. (U) On the pharmaceutical front, the Ministry of Health's
Directorate of Rational Drug Use has affirmed that once the
U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into effect, the
Ministry would recognize U.S. pharmaceutical product patent
expiration dates. The Ministry has already solicited
information -- including trade name, chemical name, first
filing date, strength, patent expiration date, and a copy of
the original U.S. patent -- from U.S. pharmaceutical
producers regarding patented products being marketed in Oman.
The Ministry further agreed to adhere to the strong data
protection requirements of the FTA. The Ministry's Director
of Rational Drug Use mentioned to Econoff on February 18 that
she recently had a productive meeting with PhRMA
representatives in Muscat regarding protection of
pharmaceutical patents.

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Comment
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7. (SBU) Oman continues to improve upon its intellectual
property protection regime in anticipation of implementing
the FTA, and USG programming is assisting Oman in enforcing
its IPR obligations. Furthermore, the private sector has
made significant efforts in partnering with Omani government
officials on IPR protections. For these reasons, Embassy
Muscat recommends excluding Oman from both the Watch List and
Special Mention List for 2008. End Comment.
GRAPPO