Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PORTOFSPAIN147
2008-03-27 14:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Port Of Spain
Cable title:  

COLLABORATING ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT

Tags:  ETRD KIPR KCRM TD 
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VZCZCXRO6305
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHSP #0147/01 0871424
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271424Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9070
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000147 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EB/TPP/IPE, INL, WHA/CAR
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT R LIPMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KIPR KCRM TD
SUBJECT: COLLABORATING ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT
IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

REF: (A) 07 Port of Spain 320 (B) 08 Port of Spain 060
(C) 08 Port of Spain 116

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000147

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EB/TPP/IPE, INL, WHA/CAR
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT R LIPMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD KIPR KCRM TD
SUBJECT: COLLABORATING ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT
IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

REF: (A) 07 Port of Spain 320 (B) 08 Port of Spain 060
(C) 08 Port of Spain 116

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. (U) SUMMARY: In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice
and Trinidad and Tobago's Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Office
of the Attorney General, Embassy Port of Spain coordinated a
successful three-day INL-funded intellectual property rights (IPR)
enforcement workshop. The event brought together government
officials and private sector representatives to design anti-piracy
strategies, taking into account the limited resources available to
investigate and prosecute IPR crimes. While impediments to GOTT
interagency collaboration were evident, participants were able to
hash out workable enforcement programs, producing a 25-page
enforcement handbook and displaying a commitment to continued
collaboration. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On March 11, the Director of Public Prosecution, Geoffrey
Henderson; the Minister of Legal Affairs, Peter Taylor; and
Ambassador Austin kicked off a three-day Intellectual Property
Rights (IPR) enforcement workshop coordinated by the U.S. Department
of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development,
Assistance and Training (DOJ/OPDAT),the Ministry of Legal Affairs,
the Office of the Attorney General, and the Embassy. Participants
from eleven GOTT offices and a number of private sector
organizations as well as media representatives listened as the
opening speakers highlighted the importance of protecting
intellectual property rights.

--------------
Developing Workable Enforcement Protocols
--------------


3. (U) Following the opening ceremony, DOJ/OPDAT officials
facilitated a discussion about the most prevalent forms of piracy in
Trinidad and Tobago. In attendance were representatives from the
Police Service, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP),
Office of the Solicitor General, Office of the Chief Parliamentary
Counsel, Bureau of Inland Revenue (BIR),Bureau of Standards,
Customs and Excise Division, Consumer Affairs Division, Microsoft,
Pfizer, Carihome Entertainment, and the Copyright Association of
Trinidad and Tobago (COTT). Participants agreed to discuss several

critical areas in greater detail, including the importation of blank
CDs/DVDs, counterfeit pharmaceuticals and circuit breakers, as well
as the distribution of pirated software, CDs and DVDs by street
vendors as well shops.


4. (U) DOJ/OPDAT facilitator, Robert Lipman, probed each of these
problem areas, working with the participants to outline the flow of
goods to the market and identify leverage points, such as customs
and financial records, that could be used by law enforcement to
identify IPR violators. The participants then worked in small
groups to develop step-by-step protocols for investigating these IPR
crimes. The workshop facilitators, including Lipman, a retired UK
police official, and a representative from DOJ's Computer Crimes and
Intellectual Property Section, assisted in this exercise.


5. (U) While impediments to interagency collaboration and
enforcement were evident during the handbook's development,
participants were able to hash out workable enforcement programs.
The workshop yielded a twenty-five page handbook with IPR
enforcement protocols, an IPR communications strategy, and guidance
on investigation and prosecution of IPR cases.

--------------
Barriers to Effective Enforcement
--------------


6. (SBU) The workshop highlighted several barriers to effective
enforcement. The criminal justice system lacks sufficient resources
to fight crime generally and piracy specifically. The country has
an estimated 9,000 police officers for a population of 1.3 million
and only nine high court judges to try major cases. With almost 100
murders to date in 2008, law enforcement is focused on violent
crime. Crackdowns on piracy have come under public scrutiny for
diverting resources from violent crimes and for potentially creating
more criminals by putting street vendors out of business.


7. (SBU) IPR case law is thin and thus judges have little precedent
to refer to when trying piracy cases. Prosecutors expressed
frustration at judges' tendency to ignore IPR crimes due to the
general lack of familiarity with their legal merits. The Copyright
Amendment Bill, now before the House of Representatives, may help
address this situation by clarifying judicial powers (reftels B and
C).

PORT OF SP 00000147 002 OF 002




8. (SBU) With access to goods entering the country, the Customs and
Excise Division is in a position to provide critical information to
inform piracy investigations. During the workshop, Customs
officials were hesitant to commit to any information sharing
protocols. Their attitude was in sharp contrast to that of their BIR
counterparts who were willing to assist in the investigation of tax
records of suspected pirates and their suppliers. While the issue
was eventually resolved by the Controller's decision to allow for
information exchange between agencies, participants were clearly
frustrated by the hesitation of Customs' representatives.

--------------
Benefits of Education and Communication
--------------


9. (U) Focusing on pirated CDs/DVDs, the public debate over piracy
in T&T has turned towards the social welfare of the "innocent"
criminal as well as the appropriate allocation of limited law
enforcement resources (reftel C). The group's discussion of pirated
software and counterfeit circuit breakers, however, helped educate
participants about the nature and extent of piracy's impacts on
public health and safety. Better informed, law enforcement
officials will now be able to justify the use of limited resources
in the fight against piracy to their superiors as well as the
public. In fact, the group developed a communications strategy to
educate others about the impact of various forms of piracy.


11. (U) Private sector participants expressed interest in working
closely with law enforcement to combat piracy. The representatives
from COTT and Carihome conduct raids with police, helping to
identify pirated materials. Pfizer also actively communicates with
the Ministry of Health when it is aware of possible counterfeit
shipments entering the country. The connections made at the
workshop between law enforcement agencies and private sector
representatives will help strengthen enforcement mechanisms.


12. (SBU) COMMENT: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants
discussed the steps required to gain buy-in for both the IPR
enforcement handbook and greater interagency collaboration. The
majority of the participants did not feel empowered to carry the
mandate further than the workshop. However, they were willing to
communicate with their superiors to recommend the issuance of
"directives" authorizing protocol implementation and interagency
cooperation. Going forward, Post will follow up not only with
workshop participants but also with key officials within the
Ministry of Legal Affairs, Ministry of National Security, and the
Office of the Attorney General to try to ensure that the progress
achieved at the workshop leads to stronger enforcement. Given the
difficulty of interagency communication and hesitation of some
agencies to fully commit to the initiative, it will be a challenge
to ensure ongoing dialogue and cooperation.

AUSTIN