SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IP A SUCCESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 001034

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPE/KEAT/URBAN
STATE FOR WHA/MEX/WOLFSON
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MELLE/MCCOY/SHIGETOMI/VETERE
STATE PASS TO JUSTICE FOR CCIPS/MERRIAM,KOUAME AND
OPDAT/TRUEBELL AND RAMOS
STATE PASS TO COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/ONAFTA/WORD
STATE PASS TO COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/IPR/WILSON,BOGER
COMMERCE PASS TO USPTO FOR RODRIGUEZ/BERDUT/MORALES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD MX
SUBJECT: SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IP A SUCCESS

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) Summary: The Embassy, with the financial
support of the Department of Justice (DOJ),the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO),and the Copyright
Office, sponsored the Second International Conference on
Intellectual Property, held in Monterrey from March 25-

27. This event, organized by the Mexican National
College of Magistrates and Judges and the Mexican
Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI),among others,
brought together more than 250 participants - including
50 judges - from nine countries to share experiences and
discuss the role of the judiciary in IP protection and
enforcement. Five U.S. speakers participated, including
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew, U.S.
District Court Judge Bernice Donald, and Associate
Register Maria Pallante. The conference was a success in
that it was spearheaded by Mexican authorities and it
increased the awareness and understanding within the
judicial branch of the methods available to counter IP
violations. However in anticipation of next year's third
conference, the Embassy will encourage greater
international and judicial participation as well as
attempt to shift the focus to equipping the participants
with the necessary tools to fairly and effectively
adjudicate an IP case. End summary.

Participants and U.S. Speakers
--------------


2. (U) The March 25-27 conference was attended by more
than 250 Mexican officials, lawyers and students,
including around 50 judges, court officials and experts
from nine different countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
Germany, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Spain, and the United
States). This was twice as large as the first annual
international conference, held in Cancun in February

2008.


3. (U) DOJ funded the participation of U.S. District
Court Judge Bernice Donald, as well as the interpretation
and audio-visual services. Thanks to USPTO, Senior U.S.
District Court Judge Ronald Lew and Barr Weiner,
Associate Director for Policy at the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration's Office of Combination Products, were
able to participate. The Copyright Office was ably
represented by Associate Register for Policy and
International Affairs Maria Pallante. Renowned patent
expert Dr. Ananda Chakrabarty from the University of
Illinois' College of Medicine at Chicago was asked to
participate by the conference organizers and was
privately funded.

The Conference: Weaknesses and Strengths
--------------


4. (U) The three-day conference was broken up into
several panel discussions and keynote speeches. Patent
issues were addressed, including patent criteria, patent
linkage, data protection and enforcement. On copyrights,
speakers took up the issues of limits and exceptions,
image rights, international treaties and their
implications on digital copyrights, and copyright
protection. Finally, unfair competition and false
advertising as they relate to trademarks were raised.


5. (U) Discussions often ran over time, as the speakers
were engaging and the audience was inquisitive. In some
cases, language barriers and distance precluded panelists
from coordinating their prepared comments beforehand,
making the panel appear more like three or four mini-
lectures rather than a cohesive discussion. Moreover,
the moderators were not effective in provoking a genuine
exchange of ideas or facilitating a dialogue.


MEXICO 00001034 002 OF 002



6. (U) However, feedback from the attendees was very
positive, particularly with respect to the caliber of the
speakers and the elevated understanding of the role of
the judiciary in IP protection and enforcement.
Participants also appreciated the international flavor of
the conference, and pointed out that it was exciting to
hear so many different languages united by one cause -
the importance of protecting IPR. One after another
speaker stressed that in order to foster innovation and
creativity, the judges, the law enforcement officials,
the attorneys, the rightholders, and society as a whole
have a responsibility to protect IPR, and each speaker,
the Mexicans in particular, acknowledged that more needs
to be done.

Next Steps
--------------


7. (SBU) The Mexican authorities took strong ownership
of this conference, which in itself is another success.
However, as it was originally proposed, this conference
was intended for judges, to provide them with the
necessary skills to adjudicate IP cases. An unfortunate
consequence of the size and diversity of the audience -
consisting of judges, lawyers, officials, academics and
students - was the dilution of this intent.


8. (SBU) The third annual international conference will
be held in Merida in February 2010. The Embassy will
again support this effort, and in addition to securing
the attendance of U.S. judges and other experts, we will
reach out to other U.S. Embassies throughout the region
and elsewhere and request their assistance in encouraging
more international judicial participation at this event.
In addition, we will attempt to encourage the organizers
to focus their efforts on judicial training; for example,
infringement case studies, evidentiary admission,
judicial conduct, and sentencing. The Embassy will also
seek separate opportunities for judicial training.

BASSETT