MOROCCO SAYS YES TO REGIONAL IP CONFERENCE

UNCLAS RABAT 000213 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR NEA/MAG AND EEB/TPP/IPE COMMERCE FOR USPTO CINDY HENDERSON AND KARIN FERRITER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KIPR MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO SAYS YES TO REGIONAL IP CONFERENCE REF: 02/28/08 - HENDERSON-KAAILAU E-MAIL ¶1. (U) The Director of the Moroccan Copyright Office, Abdallah Ouadghiri, enthusiastically agreed to host and coordinate a three-day regional intellectual property rights (IPR) conference in Rabat, Morocco, June 10-12, 2008. Ouadghiri proposes a conference of 60-80 total participants that would focus on copyright enforcement, with national presentations and group workshops supplementing USPTO training material. ¶2. (SBU) On March 6, Econoff met with Ouadghiri to discuss the proposed IPR conference outlined in reference e-mail. Ouadghiri embraced the idea and pledged to coordinate Moroccan participation among the various Moroccan stakeholders: Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, the Moroccan Office for Industrial and Commercial Property (L'Office Marocain de la Propriete Industrielle et Commerciale, OMPIC),and the Moroccan Copyright Office (Bureau Marocain du Droit D'Auteur, BMDA). In addition, Ouadghiri suggested opening the conference to his counterparts from Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. In discussing international participation, Ouadghiri quipped that he was positive he was not the only IPR director in the Middle East struggling to implement and enforce IP responsibilities, "How are Jordan and Bahrain doing it?" ¶3. (SBU) Ouadghiri asked that the conference focus on copyright issues to meet the needs of his organization (BMDA). Although he pledged to coordinate OMPIC (trademark) participation in the conference, Ouadghiri made an impassioned plea for copyright specific training for his staff. He pointed out that his Bureau has no English speakers, which has prevented him from sending anyone to USPTO sponsored training at the Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA). He remarked that OMPIC, on the other hand, has been able to take advantage of several trademark related courses. ¶4. (SBU) Ouadghiri proposed June 10-12, 2008 as the most convenient dates for the conference and suggested it be held at the Tour Hassan Hotel in Rabat. He said he was confident he could obtain access to the main conference room for no cost in exchange for conference participants staying there, and that simultaneous translation English-Arabic was the most preferred. Note: The Tour Hassan is one of Rabat's best known hotels, has a long history of cooperation with Post, and charges within U.S. government per diem. Based on current exchange rates, we can expect simultaneous translation to cost approximately USD 1450 per day. End Note. ¶5. (U) Ouadghiri proposes a conference with three main activities: USPTO presentations of copyright related course material, national IP presentations by the participating nations, and workshops to discuss enforcement issues of common (regional) relevance. He pledged to obtain approximately 60 participants from the various Moroccan stakeholders, the majority coming from BMDA. Including 2 participants from the other six countries, the conference would total 70-75 participants. RILEY SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED