BRUNEI LEARNING MORE ABOUT IPR BUT GAPS REMAIN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000068

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PASS FOR EAP/MTS/COPPOLAMG, EEB/TPP/IPE/URBANJ
STATE PASS TO USTR EHLERK, BAER
STATE PASS TO USPTO
SINGAPORE FOR FINATT BAKERS
BANGKOK FOR FCS/NESSJ

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD USTR WTRO BX

SUBJECT: BRUNEI LEARNING MORE ABOUT IPR BUT GAPS REMAIN

REF: BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 40

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Over the past month, post has seen more engagement on
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues, primarily driven by the
private sector. Under the sponsorship of the Brunei Economic
Development Board's (BEDB) ICentre, US based IPR attorneys provided
detailed briefings to new IT businesses, government of Brunei (GoB)
officials, and academics. In addition, Ambassador Todd and embassy
have pressed senior GoB officials regarding increased IPR
enforcement and, specifically focusing on prosecutions. The
increased public attention in Brunei on IPR is a welcome step.
However, as noted in Reftel, much more must be done, especially in
regards to prevention of disc piracy. The GoB, private sector, and
other interested parties must sustain these positive steps.

BRUNEI LEARNING MORE ABOUT IPR
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2. (SBU) During the week of March 9, the Brunei Economic Development
Board (BEDB),through the BEDB ICentre, sponsored a number of
seminars on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). (NOTE: The ICentre
seeks to develop new Brunei based startups, mostly working in the IT
sector. The ICentre has a partnership with the National University
of Singapore (NUS) to provide a number of speakers and seminars in
Brunei. END NOTE.) US based attorneys, from the firm of Fenwick and
West, Roger Tolbert and Andrew Serafini were the seminar speakers.
Tolbert and Serafini spoke with new startups companies as well as
with government officials, academics, and other interest parties.
The sessions featured detailed but basic level IPR topics. Tolbert
spoke on the various aspects of IP license agreements while Serafini
addressed IP patent law and due diligence. In discussions with DCM,
both Tolbert and Serafini noted a high level of interest in IPR
issues. However, this was tempered by a relatively low overall
knowledge of key IPR elements. Both noted that their sessions with
new business owners were very productive and that they believe there
is potential for development in Brunei but much remains to be done
to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework.

AMBASSADOR TODD PRESSES IPR CONCERNS WITH DEPUTY FOREIGN MINSTER
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3. (SBU) On March 19, Ambassador Todd met with Deputy Foreign
Minister, Pehin Lim Jock Seng, to discuss a number of issues.
Ambassador Todd noted the USG's concerns regarding IPR, specifically
in the areas of enforcement. Ambassador took the opportunity to
follow up on a number of areas noted in Reftel. Specific attention
was brought to the lack of prosecution. While some ministries and
departments such as the Trade Department in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Customs department in the Ministry of Home Affairs
have been cooperative, others have been hesitant to engage further
on IPR enforcement. Pehin Lim noted that Brunei is concerned about
IPR and that he would speak directly with his counterparts in the
Attorney General Chambers (AGC) and Ministry of Home Affairs. Pehin
Lim also asked for a letter, which was provide the next day, from
Ambassador Todd detailing USG concerns and noted he would also
discuss with the Sultan the issues raised by the Ambassador.

DCM NOTES KEY IPR ISSUES WITH TRADE DEPARTMENT
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4. (SBU) On March 17, DCM discussed IPR concerns Vincent Kong,
Director of Trade Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(MFAT). Mr. Kong was joined by all of his MFAT trade team. DCM took
the opportunity to review, again, the concerns noted in Reftel.
Specifically focusing on the need to meet more with IPR rights
holders, DCM noted that more could be done to promote such meetings
and that MFAT can and should play a key role. Kong agreed but noted
that the GoB is often 'taciturn' when it comes to discussing
publicly its IPR efforts. He noted that MFAT will work with GoB
ministries to do a better job of outreach and communication. All
agreed that a major area of focus must be prevention and prosecution
of disc piracy. DCM pointed out that Brunei does have advantages
that other countries lack. Specifically the GoB can focus on a
particular IPR area (i.e. disc piracy) and make positive changes
quickly given the overall small size of the market.

COMMENT
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5. (SBU) BEDB's commitment to improving Brunei's IPR knowledge is a
welcome sign. BEDB continues to be at the forefront of many of
Brunei's positive steps forward in terms of economic

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diversification. The support of Prince Mohammed, Brunei's Foreign
Minister, remains a key to BEDB success and increased IPR
enforcement and protections will need support from the highest
levels of the GoB. Ambassador Todd continues to press USG IPR
concerns and post believes the MFAT remains the best interlocutor to
bring these issues to the forefront. Post is pleased that the AGC
will put forward nominations for the USPTO Global Intellectual
Property Academy (GIPA) program in early May. Continued engagement
and training is required for both the private sector and GoB. As
Bruneians become more familiar with IPR, we may see local rights
holders demand the same protections and enforcement that
international rights holders are currently and correctly demanding.

MCINTYRE