IPR TRAINING FOR MEXICAN CUSTOMS IN MONTERREY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 000520

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 ITA/MAC/IPR/WILSON
COMMERCE PASS TO USPTO FOR RODRIGUEZ/BERDUT/MORALES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON SNAR MX
SUBJECT: IPR TRAINING FOR MEXICAN CUSTOMS IN MONTERREY

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


1. (SBU) The Embassy, together with the ConGen Monterrey, the
Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, held a three-day
training seminar on criminal enforcement and detecting, detaining,
and deterring the importation of pirated and counterfeit goods for
Mexican customs and law enforcement officials in Monterrey from
February 4-6. The seminar was financed by DOJ grant money from
State/INL. The course focused on promoting interagency cooperation
and providing the participants with the necessary tools to maximize
the Mexican government's efforts to counter IP violations. The
course was led by a renowned instructor from the World Customs
Organization (WCO),who was joined by Mexican IP experts from the
key agencies involved in IP protection and enforcement. As in
previous training programs, the American Chamber of Commerce of
Mexico coordinated a hands-on training with more than 40 famous
brand right holders. The Mexican reaction to the course was very
positive; however, the program organizers learned Mexican customs
officials are not as well trained as previously thought, a
disproportionate emphasis is placed on Mexican customs officials to
collect revenue, and cooperation and trust is not apparent within
the Mexican interagency, nor shared strongly with the private
sector. Despite these challenges the Embassy plans to capitalize on
the success of this event and hold additional IPR training as part
of our cooperative efforts to strengthen IP protection and
enforcement in Mexico. End summary.

Students and Instructors
--------------


2. (U) The February 4-6 seminar was attended by 56 Mexican customs
officers from across Mexico, as well as 14 law enforcement officials
from the Office of Attorney General of the Republic (PGR - or the
Mexican Department of Justice),the Mexican Institute of Industrial
Property (IMPI - counterpart to the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office),and the National Copyright Institute (INDAUTOR). This was
the largest audience we have ever had for these programs. The
senior level of the speakers from IMPI and PGR underscored the
importance that the GOM placed on this training. The presence of
the Senior IPR coordinator from Mexican Customs was also highly
significant, as he is the key to developing IPR awareness, training,
and best practices within the customs administration.


3. (U) DOJ funded the participation of Christophe Zimmermann, Chief
Technical Officer of the World Customs Organization's
Anti-Counterfeit and Piracy Unit. Thanks to his vast experience in
IPR issues, his excellent ability to communicate this knowledge, and
his fluency in Spanish, Mr. Zimmermann ensured the success of this
seminar. He was ably assisted by Marie-Flore Kouame of the
Department of Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property
Section; John Zarate, National Program Manager of the National
Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center; DHS/ICE Assistant
Attach Manny Larragoity from Embassy Mexico City; and DHS/ICE
Assistant Attach Bobby Silva from CG Monterrey. (Note: DHS/CBP
was invited to participate, but was unable to attend. End note.)

What We Did
--------------



4. (U) Day One of the seminar was dedicated to presentations on the
importance of IPR and the tools available to increase criminal
enforcement and combat IP violations. The DOJ speaker first
outlined the importance of IP protection and enforcement. PGR, IMPI
and INDAUTOR officials led interactive sessions to explain their
agencies' respective roles in IP protection and how they can assist
customs officials in enforcing IPR at the border. Participants
gained an appreciation for interagency cooperation, especially when
representatives from DHS/ICE and the IPR Coordination Center gave
specific case studies where such cooperation yielded significant
seizures, investigations, and arrests.



5. (U) On Day 2, through the cooperation of the American Chamber of
Commerce in Mexico, more than 40 clothing, pharmaceuticals, cell

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phones, movies and music, software, and electronic devices
companies, set up 19 expo stands to build a stronger rapport and
share intelligence with the various customs and law enforcement
officials. Small groups of 3-4 participants rotated through all of
the expo stands, spending about 20 minutes at each. This gave them
time to learn directly from the right holders how to distinguish
real goods from counterfeits as well as understand the various
techniques that counterfeiters use to avoid detection. According to
the participants, this interactive "hands-on" mechanism was most
useful, since when customs officials are inspecting shipments, or
when law enforcement agencies are investigating these cases, they
usually do not have original products readily available with which
to compare and build a case. This public-private sector interaction
was also useful in that officials developed relationships with right
holders and now have a point of contact to call when a suspicious
shipment is discovered.


6. (U) The remainder of Day Two and all of Day Three were led by Mr.
Zimmermann, Chief Technical Officer of the World Customs
Organization's Anti-Counterfeit and Piracy Unit. He shared with the
participants fresh insights and valuable techniques to increase
criminal deterrence at the border, and drove them to reexamine their
role in countering IP violations. He walked the customs and law
enforcement officials through several sample manifests, airway
bills, and bills of lading, pointing out various indicators that
should render the shipment suspect. At the Monterrey Airport, he
led the students through a tour of three air freight carriers'
warehouses, pointing out types of packaging and labeling that they
should deem suspicious. Utilizing these practical techniques in
situ, the participants identified a suspect shipment, and when it
was opened, actually discovered a delivery of counterfeit apparel
with a street value in the thousands of dollars. Throughout the
training, Mr. Zimmermann underscored the importance of interagency
cooperation to gather evidence for use in building stronger criminal
cases.

Achievements, Revelations, and Next Steps
--------------


7. (U) Feedback from the Mexican attendees was very positive,
particularly with respect to the development of their skill sets in
risk analysis, targeting, selecting, and interdicting suspect
shipments. The heavy focus on interagency cooperation by Customs,
PGR, IMPI, INDAUTOR and DHS/ICE also received high marks, as did the
right holder's participation in instructing how to identify
infringing goods. Participants also appreciated the personal
connections made among the various Mexican and U.S. agencies, which
we hope will lead to increased coordination and cooperation in
attacking cross-border flows of pirated and counterfeit products.


8. (SBU) One sour note - At the last minute, customs officials
informed ECONOFF that the Mexican officials from other agencies were
not permitted to tour through the warehouses at the airport. This
impulsive obstruction by Mexican customs underscores the lack of
transparency and distrust that must be overcome in order to fully
maximize the Mexican government's efforts in combating IP
violations. Two other revelations - It became apparent through the
three-day training event that a disproportionate emphasis is placed
on Mexican customs officials to collect revenue on shipments rather
than prevent the illegal entry of goods. In addition, the airport
exercise also revealed the lack of cooperation between Mexican
customs and the various transporters. For example, an air freight
carrier that discovered counterfeit goods then shipped the goods
back to the exporter in China instead of alerting the local customs
authority. To address these issues will require a more coordinated
approach by ECON, DHS and other members of the Embassy community.


9. (SBU) A final revelation - Despite their enthusiasm for the
program, many of the participating Mexican customs officials lacked
fundamental skills that such officials should possess in order to
assist with criminal enforcement, such as the basic understanding of
shipping and transportation contract documents. The absence of
these essential skills impedes their ability to detect suspicious
activity that can then be referred to law enforcement officials for
criminal investigation. This information is also critical to build
strong criminal evidence. For this reason, future USG

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capacity-building IP events will target the development of essential
customs skills that will be most useful to Mexican Customs officials
in their daily tasks and that do not necessitate the use of advanced
technology or software.


10. (U) The Mexican officials have asked for additional IPR
training, and have expressed a strong desire for Mr. Zimmermann's
continued participation. The Embassy plans to pursue these
requests, and will continue to emphasize the development of
essential customs techniques and practices, interagency cooperation,
and collaboration with the private sector.

BASSETT