Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PARAMARIBO195
2008-05-09 14:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Paramaribo
Cable title:  

SURINAME: POST HONORS WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY

Tags:  ETRD SCUL TBIO NS 
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VZCZCXRO9731
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHPO #0195 1301429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091429Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0166
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHAO/AMCONSUL CURACAO 1260
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 0100
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000195 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR - JACKIE ROSHOLT
DEPT FOR EEB/IPP - RACHEL WALLACE
SAO PAOLO - DORIAN MAZURKEVICH
COMMERCE - PASS TO USPTO FOR BARBARA MCCAFFREY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD SCUL TBIO NS
SUBJECT: SURINAME: POST HONORS WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY


UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000195

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR - JACKIE ROSHOLT
DEPT FOR EEB/IPP - RACHEL WALLACE
SAO PAOLO - DORIAN MAZURKEVICH
COMMERCE - PASS TO USPTO FOR BARBARA MCCAFFREY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD SCUL TBIO NS
SUBJECT: SURINAME: POST HONORS WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. During a lunch in honor of World Intellectual
Property Day, guests from the Government of Suriname's (GOS) newly
convened Working Committee on Intellectual Property Rights explained
that they have a six-month mandate to compare Suriname's legislation
to TRIPS requirements and make recommendations on which areas of
current GOS legislation are adequate and which need to be improved.
Working groups will then be instituted to develop new legislation to
protect intellectual property. The creation of this committee is a
new GOS effort to address Suriname's international commitments to
protect intellectual property. End Summary.


2. (U) On April 25, the Ambassador hosted a lunch in honor of World
Intellectual Property Day, which targeted guests from the Government
of Suriname's (GOS) newly convened Working Committee on Intellectual
Property Rights. The fifteen-member committee is intra-agency and
includes members of the private sector. The Permanent Secretary of
Justice and Police, Mr. Sharma Lakhisaran, is the official head of
the committee, and a Bureau of Intellectual Property Rights staffer
serves as Secretary to the committee.


3. (U) Lunch guests, representing police, customs, business, and
academia told us they had a six-month mandate to review the WTO
TRIPS agreements in order to make recommendations to the GOS on
which areas require new legislation. Thereafter, working groups
would be created to draft legislation on the focus areas. The
guests did not know of whom the working groups would be composed, or
whether oversight of the working groups would be done by the
committee or by the Bureau of Intellectual Property Rights.


4. (U) Participants said although the committee's mandate was from
January through June 2008, members were only designated in late
February. The committee has met twice monthly since then. A number
of committee members had no prior expertise on intellectual property
issues. Due to these challenges, all agreed it would be difficult
to meet the June 2008 deadline for recommendations. Some
participants suggested the committee could request an extension to
its mandate, while others expressed concern that the longer Suriname
goes without intellectual property legislation, the more entrenched
those who violate intellectual property will be in the marketplace.



5. (U) One participant asked if Suriname could expect U.S.
government assistance on addressing intellectual property issues.
She suggested once the new legislation is drafted, the United States
government offer Suriname a "train the trainer" course on
intellectual property protection and enforcement. The Economic
Officer explained existing opportunities to participate in the
Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) in the United States,
and participants requested Post provide their committee with course
information as it becomes available.


6. (SBU) Comment. Suriname has a poor record on the protection of
intellectual property, and counterfeit goods are plentiful in the
marketplace. Last fall, the Foundation for Copyright Protection in
Suriname (SASUR),Suriname's copyrights watchdog, had its activities
suspended by the government after numerous complaints about the
organization's lack of transparency, and after anecdotes that it
even tried to collect fees from artists performing their own music.
The creation of the current committee is the new GOS effort to
address Suriname's international commitments to protect intellectual
property. End Comment.
GENTON