COLOMBIA -- 2009 SPECIAL 301 REVIEW

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000684

SIPDIS

EEB/TPP/IPE MCGOWAN
COMMERCE FOR MAC A. ROSEN
RIO FOR IPR REGIONAL ATTACHE DMAZERKEVICH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA -- 2009 SPECIAL 301 REVIEW

REF: STATE 8410


1. (U) SUMMARY. Post recommends Colombia remain on the
Special 301 Watch List. The Colombian Government has made
substantial efforts over the last year to combat the theft of
intellectual property. The penalties for pharmaceuticals
counterfeiting have been stiffened. The level of cooperation
both within the Government of Colombia and between the GOC
and the private sector on IPR issues has increased.
Nonetheless, the incidence of IPR violations is still high
due to the relatively small amount of resources devoted to
IPR protection and a judiciary that does not consider IPR
protection a priority. END SUMMARY.

IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
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2. (U) Intellectual property lawyers generally agree that
Colombia complies with its international obligations under
TRIPS and other agreements. However, the international
pharmaceutical industry has expressed concerns that the
difficulties associated with obtaining patents for
improvements and second uses may constitute a violation of
its TRIPS commitments.

DATA PROTECTION
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3. (U) Colombian decree 2085 of 2002 provides a five-year
protection for product and patent process data for
pharmaceuticals. The industry has raised concerns over
obstacles to obtaining preliminary injunctions before a
potentially patent-infringing product enters the market.
Colombia's data protection norm for the agrochemical sector
provides five years of data protection. Industry has
expressed a desire for a longer period of data protection for
agrochemical products, and under the U.S.-Colombia Trade
Promotion Agreement (U.S.-CTPA),this period would be
extended to ten years.

ENFORCEMENT
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4. (U) Colombian authorities conducted 857 raids and seized
2,290,537 pirated sound recordings, 1,796 CD burners and 567
DVD burners. Industry is generally pleased with enforcement
actions by police and prosecutors but notes that these
actions are often limited to Bogota and Medellin.


5. (U) GOC and industry contacts expressed concern over the
lack of basic IPR knowledge on the part of judges. In
particular, they cited an April 30, 2008 Supreme Court
decision that "the illegal download of music to personal
computers is something insignificant that cannot be
considered a crime." In general, the judiciary does not
fully understand the importance of IPR enforcement. The
Commercial Service and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
delivered an enforcement seminar in June 2008 aimed at
training 70 judges and prosecutors on IPR issues. One judge
noted that he had 3,000 pending cases and "finally understood
what he needed to do." Seminar participants lamented the
lack of funds, personnel and training for enforcement;
several noted the difficulties associated with not having
designated judges hear IPR cases.

INTERNET PIRACY
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6. (U) Internet piracy is a significant and growing concern
in Colombia. Industry estimates that internet piracy of
music accounts for virtually all of the internet music
market. There is virtually no punishment of internet IPR
violators in Colombia. The U.S.-CTPA would introduce more
stringent measures to fight internet piracy.

PRODUCTION, IMPORT AND EXPORT OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS
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7. (U) The importation of counterfeit and pirated goods
linked to illegal armed groups, criminal gangs and
narco-traffickers in Colombia is a major concern.
Authorities believe that narco-traffickers import contraband
as a way of laundering drug profits. Industry has applauded
GOC efforts to halt the importation of counterfeit and
pirated goods, including increased coordination among
different agencies responsible for inspections. Nonetheless,
limited resources sometimes impede basic elements of
interdiction, such as warehousing confiscated items.



8. (U) Importation of counterfeit liquor in the northern
department of La Guajira remains a problem. In 2008,
Colombia increased penalties for counterfeit medicines and
food from 4-8 years to 6-12 years, essentially making it a
jailable offense.

OPTICAL MEDIA PIRACY
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9. (U) Optical media piracy remains a serious issue.
Industry estimates that pirated CDs accounted for 71 percent
of the physical music market. The figure is even higher
outside of the larger cities where raids are concentrated.

BOOK PIRACY
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10. (U) The illegal photocopying of textbooks, books, and
journals, particularly in and around universities continues
to be a grave problem in Colombia. Government decree 1070 of
April 7, 2008 requires that educational institutions and
photocopy companies obtain the authorization from copyright
holders' representatives before permitting reproduction of
their works.

GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS SOFTWARE
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11. (U) The GOC requires that all software government
entities procure and use be properly licensed. In addition,
law 603 of 2002 requires Colombian companies to certify their
compliance with copyright laws. GOC contacts say there has
been greater enforcement of this law in 2008. Industry
estimates that in 2008, 58 percent of the software market was
pirated, down slightly from 59 percent in 2007 and
translating into 127 million dollars in lost revenue.

WIPO TREATIES
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12. (U) Colombia ratified the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty and
WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaties in 2002.
BROWNFIELD