Canada IPR: One Step Forward, 26.2 Miles To Go

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000850 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAN AND EEB/TPP/IPE USTR FOR MELLE, SULLIVAN AND REEVES COMMERCE FOR JENNIFER BOGER, GERI WORD, AND EMILY BARRIGAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR CA SUBJECT: Canada IPR: One Step Forward, 26.2 Miles To Go ¶1. (SBU) The Canadian Department of Justice on November 3 proposed amending Canadian regulations in order to include offenses against the Copyright Act under Proceeds of Crime provisions. This change will allow law enforcement officials to seize assets that were paid for with money gained from activity in violation of Canada's Copyright Act. It will act as an incentive for law enforcement to investigate copyright crime and a disincentive to commit these crimes. According to Chris Grey, Director of the Canadian Intellectual Property Council, while this is forward progress, the Government's action does nothing to address industries' key issues of copyright modernization and improved enforcement and is only a small step forward. ¶2. (U) The full text of the proposed amendments can be found at: http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-10-31 /html/reg3-eng.html ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Amending these regulations is an easy and non-controversial action for the Government of Canada and we agree that the amendments, while positive, are underwhelming. This small step does not change the pressing need for the Government to quickly act on prior commitments to implement the WIPO internet treaties and increase Canadian law enforcement officers' authorities to stop the flow of counterfeit goods. End Comment. JACOBSON