SPAIN: THIRD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON DIGITAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 001137 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE, EEB/CIP, EEB/TPP/IPE STATE PASS USTR FOR D.WEINER STATE PASS U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE FOR M.WOODS AND M.PALLANTE COMMERCE FOR 4212/DON CALVERT COMMERCE ALSO FOR NTIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS KIPR SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: THIRD ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON DIGITAL CONTENT (FICOD),NOVEMBER 16-18, MADRID REF: A. MADRID 1115 ¶B. MADRID 1088 MADRID 00001137 001.3 OF 002 ¶1. Summary: The GOS-hosted International Forum on Digital Content (FICOD 2009) was a great success, with excellent turnout, high-quality presentations, and an enthusiastic audience. The opening remarks by Deputy Administrator Anna Gomez of NTIA were well-received, and Forum organizers greatly appreciated her participation. Post also wishes to express its gratitude to Deputy Administrator Gomez and to those at State and Commerce who helped make it possible. Septel will report on the intellectual property rights aspects of FICOD, including the participation of U.S. Copyright Office senior counsel Michele Woods and of MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Spain's Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade (MITYC),Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society (SETSI),hosted the third annual International Forum on Digital Content (FICOD),November 16-18. Co-sponsors included red.es (the government's Internet development agency),the Ministry of Culture, the Madrid municipal government, Telefonica, BBVA, and Plan E (the GOS economic recovery/infrastructure plan). SETSI designated the United States the featured country for this year's event. Anna Gomez, Deputy Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA),delivered the opening remarks at FICOD's inaugural event, followed by Minister of Culture Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde and MITYC Minister Miguel Sebastian. ¶3. (U) Gomez discussed the priority the Obama administration places on development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) as a vehicle for modernizing the world's economy and promoting sustained prosperity. She also highlighted the importance of a full and free exchange of information on the Internet, and outlined President Obama's innovation plan. She stated that the U.S. looks forward to working with Spain on ICT issues during Spain's upcoming EU Presidency. Her remarks were very well-received and her participation much appreciated by the audience and the Forum organizers. �00A;¶4. (U) Culture Minister Gonzalez-Sinde spoke about the importance of the Internet as a vehicle for communicating culture and making it available to the citizenry. She also referred to the new Inter-Ministerial Commission formed in October to recommend measures to deter Internet piracy, and reiterated the government's commitment (see ref B) not to punish or sanction individual users who download copyrighted material without authorization. Finally, she announced the government's plan to support the "macro website" soon to be introduced by the Coalition of Creators and Content Industries to make more content legally available online. (See septel for more information on IPR and Internet piracy issues discussed in a series of roundtables organized as part of FICOD.) ¶5. (U) Minister Sebastian took the opportunity to announce a new GOS policy: as of January 2011, the universal telecoms service package to which all consumers are entitled by law will include broadband Internet access at a minimum speed of 1 megabyte per second (mbps). While the vast majority of Spaniards who have Internet service already have broadband access far in excess of that speed (ref A),the new regulation will require telecom companies to expand and upgrade their networks to enable them to serve rural areas, and is expected eventually to help bring Spain's broadband access and prices closer to those of its European neighbors. That said, the Internet Service Providers' (ISP) association, Redtel, is on record as opposing the initiative over the question of who - the companies or the government - will pay the costs of providing the service. Accordingly, the new policy adds another issue of contention between the government and the telecoms/ISPs. Sebastian also spoke of the development of new business models for marketing content on the Internet and closed his remarks with a strong statement on the centrality of effective IPR protection to the growth of the information society. ¶6. (U) Following the inauguration, American actor/producer Kevin Spacey delivered a speech on the Internet's value as a tool to improve education, followed by an interview in which Spacey showed off his abundant comic talents while making MADRID 00001137 002.3 OF 002 serious points on the relationship between new ICT technologies and the arts world, especially film. ¶7. (U) The subsequent two and a half days included 29 roundtables, 100 workshops, 33 special events, and an exhibition hall with 24 booths, including several operated by U.S. companies. Many of the events can be viewed in English or Spanish on the Forum's website, http://www.ficod2009.es/ficod. One of the special events was a digital book fair. There was also an OECD-sponsored workshop on Common Challenges and Shared Solutions: Good Governance in Information Society Strategies," at which Secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society Francisco Ros presented Plan Avanza, the GOS 5-year strategy for developing the ICT sector. NTIA Deputy Administrator Gomez delivered brief remarks at the workshop on what the U.S. can learn from Spain's experience. The OECD presented preliminary results of its review of Plan Avanza. ¶8. (U) FICOD was well-attended; according to organizer red.es, some 8000 participants registered, double last year's total. The audience appeared engaged and enthusiastic. The overall quality of presentations and roundtables was high. ¶9. (U) Comment: This is the most important event of the year for Spanish SETSI officials who play a key role in responding to USG Internet piracy concerns. Deputy Administrator Gomez's participation was greatly appreciated by those officials. Post wishes to thank Deputy Administrator Gomez and to express its appreciation to the several employees of the Departments of State and Commerce who worked to make her visit possible. End Comment. CHACON