USTR FOLLOWS UP ON IPR CLIMATE IN BRUNEI

UNCLAS BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000213 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS FOR EAP/MTS/COPPOLAMG, EEB/TPP/IPE/URBANJ DEPARTMENT PASS USTR/EHLERSK DEPARTMENT PASS FOR USPTO BANGKOK FOR FCS/NESSJ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR ETRD ECON EINV USTR BX SUBJECT: USTR FOLLOWS UP ON IPR CLIMATE IN BRUNEI REF: A) BANDAR 204 B) BANDAR 208 SUMMARY -------------- 1.(SBU) During his recent visit, USTR's Director of S.E. Asia and Pacific Affairs, Karl Ehlers, applauded recent steps taken by the Government of Brunei (GOB) in their efforts to improve the IPR climate within Brunei. He took this opportunity to emphasize to GOB agencies the importance of building on these initial steps brought about by USPTO, USTR and key efforts from U.S. Embassy Brunei personnel. He and ADCM Lampel both encouraged and prodded the various agencies to sustain this forward momentum and move towards direct penalty actions in order to achieve concrete long term improvement in the overall IPR industry of Brunei. End Summary PERSPECTIVE FROM GOB AGENCIES -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) stated it arranged with Recording Industry Malaysia (RIM) to execute a three month assessment of how the market reacts to local vendor raids in addition to ongoing physical verification visits with cooperation from the police, prior to any decision as to whether or not they will set up a permanent office in Brunei. (Note: This appears to contradict what RIM announced at their press conference when stating they already established a permanent presence in Brunei. (Ref A) Its possible RIM did not detail a time limit for fear it might taint action by the five syndicates if an end was in sight. End note.) The AGC also said they were looking at options for pulling business licenses of vendors of pirated optical discs as an administrative remedy short of court action. This would be similar in essence to closing a restaurant for health code violations. On a less positive note, AGC could not confirm if individual artists would be required to physically testify as witnesses in court proceedings. ¶3. (SBU) At a roundtable on IPR at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT),senior MOFAT officials watched National Geographic's aptly titled documentary on illicit trade, 'Illicit'. Following the screening, informal discussions on the IPR climate were held between MOFAT, USTR and US Embassy personnel. MOFAT stated that efforts on setting up a national IPR task force were ongoing, though a decision on a lead agency has yet to be decided (Note: After more than a year of consideration, it appears that both AGC and MOFAT want to be the lead. End note.). MOFAT representatives posed several variations of questions about next year's Special 301 decision for Brunei. USTR and US Embassy emphasized, with their responses, it would depend on sustained enforcement efforts for rights holders combined with credible prosecutions and ideally convictions made by Brunei. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) At both meetings, the need for more right holders' involvement in Brunei aside from RIM was brought up. While the Brunei music market responded positively to RIM's efforts it is to the detriment of MPA. Shelves previously occupied by pirated CDs are filling with more pirated DVDs. It appears progress in curbing piracy has only been made on RIM products. A broader coalition of rights holders is required to effectively address the problem, or vendors will keep shifting their offerings around in response to the pressure of the IPR complainant. (Note: A recent press article titled 'Many skeptical over piracy crackdown' indicated the general public has doubts about the effectiveness of the current music piracy crackdown. Reflecting comments made in earlier cable (Ref B),some noted the modus operandi would shift to Internet downloads, whereas others doubted the current legitimate market for music would last. End note.) LAMPEL