UZBEKISTAN TO AMEND IPR LAWS IN RESPONSE TO IIPA PETITION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TASHKENT 001816 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN PASS TO USTR CLAUDIO LILIENFELD AND MICHAEL FELDMAN PASS TO USPTO KEVIN ROSENBAUM DEPARTMENT FOR EEB ANU PRATTIPATI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN TO AMEND IPR LAWS IN RESPONSE TO IIPA PETITION REF: 09 STATE 84124 09 TASHKENT 285 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On October 5 we met with GOU officials to discuss intellectual property rights (IPR) points raised in the interim General System of Preferences (GSP) demarche (Ref A). Significantly, we learned that Uzbekistan is preparing to remove its reservations to Article 18 of the Berne convention and that IPR-related changes to the criminal and administrative codexes will be presented to the Uzbek parliament later this year. These amendments should be an important step forward in addressing issues raised by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) during the 1999 GSP review. END SUMMARY INTERIM GSP DEMARCHE DELIVERED -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On August 14 we delivered the interim GSP demarche (ref A) to the GOU as a non-paper under cover of a diplomatic note. In late September we received an invitation to come to the Uzbek Copyright Agency (UCA) to discuss those points related to the 1999 petition by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). This meeting took place on October 5, with the Uzbek side represented by Ibragim Amanbaev, Acting Director of UCA, and Alisher Hafizov, Lead Specialist in the Department of Information Systems and Telecommunications at the Cabinet of Ministers. Hafizov heads a working group within the Cabinet of Ministers that is charged with improving Uzbek IPR legislation. CAVEAT TO BERNE CONVENTION ARTICLE 18 TO BE RESCINDED -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Hafizov led the discussion for the Uzbek side. Acknowledging receipt of the interim demarche, he told us that Uzbek legislation is evolving rapidly in ways that should satisfy many of the concerns in the IIPA petition. With a copy of the IIPA petition in his hands, Hafizov first addressed the eight recommendations for improving IPR in Uzbekistan that IIPA provided in 2005. Most significantly, he said a decision removing Uzbekistan's caveats to Article 18 of the Berne Convention could be expected in the next several months, thereby addressing one of the most serious of IIPA's concerns regarding IPR in Uzbekistan. IIPA RECCOMENDATIONS POINT BY POINT -------------- �A; ¶4. (SBU) Hafizov then moved on a point-by-point discussion of the twelve recommendations for legal reforms and treaty accessions that IIPA made in 2007: -- Point 1: Discussions on joining the Geneva Phonograms Convention are ongoing. At this point certain unnamed ministries continue to object to portions of the convention, but progress is being made. -- Point 2: For the time being Uzbekistan will stick with its current 50 year guarantee of author's rights rather than increase it to the requested 70 years. -- Point 3: Changes are being drafted to the Criminal Codex and to the Codex on Administrative Responsibility. These will be presented to the Uzbek parliament for ratification later this year. The amendments will include the "neighboring rights" violations requested in point 3. -- Point 4: The amendments will increase the penalty for IPR violations to 400 times the minimum wage for a first TASHKENT 00001816 002 OF 007 offense and 800 times for a second. -- Point 6: Changes have already been made to criminal procedures that permit the confiscation and destruction of equipment used to produce pirated material. -- Points 7-9: The amendments provide ex officio authority to police officials, administrative authorities, and border officials to commence investigations. -- Point 10: Ex parte search provisions will be provided in the criminal code, not the civil code. -- Point 11: Uzbekistan intends to adhere to the WIPO treaties in 2010. -- Point 12: Hafizov did not directly address this point, describing it as "somewhat repetitive." ¶5. (SBU) Hafizov told us that the working group chaired by him has continued to have a good relationship with Microsoft, which has provided its comments during the drafting of the changes to the criminal and administrative codexes. Nevertheless, despite having a representative in Tashkent, Microsoft does not market its products in Uzbekistan. Rather, orders placed with the Microsoft representative are filled individually from a warehouse in Germany. ¶6. (SBU) Hafizov continued that more licensed electronic media have appeared on the market in Uzbekistan this year. In a country where 100 percent of all CDs and DVDs on sale a year ago were pirated, today licensed disks from both Sony and Warner Brothers are on sale in the Nirvana chain of stores. Sales have been good, Hafizov said, because customers are impressed by the much higher quality and are therefore willing to pay a higher price. The only negative side to this improvement is that the disks are imported from Kazakhstan. What the GOU wants, Hafizov added, is for publishers of electronic media both to enter the Uzbek market and to set up production in Uzbekistan. REQUESTS TO THE USG -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Hafizov asked for assistance in establishing contact with those in the IIPA who drafted the 1999 petition and who have since given testimony at the annual Special 301 reviews. He said he would welcome the opportunity to speak one-on-one with knowledgeable IIPA experts who could help him and his working group better understand how to satisfy IIPA concerns. ¶8. (SBU) Hafizov repeated the request we have heard previously (Ref B) for increased training through USPTO, the Department of Commerce, and other U.S. agencies. He said that what would be particularly useful would be for one or more USPTO IPR specialists to conduct a training program in Tashkent. ¶9. (SBU) Finally, Hafizov asked for help in influencing U.S. companies to enter the Uzbek market. Although both Sony and Warner Brothers disks are now on sale, the market is still dominated by pirated goods. As long as companies are unwilling to sell their goods in Uzbekistan, he said, piracy will continue to be the only avenue open to Uzbek consumers. COMMENT -------------- TASHKENT 00001816 003 OF 007 ¶10. (SBU) We continue to be impressed with the GOU's willingness to engage on the issue of IPR. Although undermanned and underfunded, the UCA is doing what it can with what it has. Hafizov participated in USPTO training in 2007, and he is using what he learned as he heads the Cabinet of Ministers' working group on IPR. To us he is emblematic of a new, younger generation of GOU technocrats that is ready to engage in an open discussion of issues. In a country where almost all Embassy communication is via diplomatic note, Hafizov brings a refreshing new approach: he answers e-mails and reaches out for contacts. ¶11. (SBU) Based on our discussions at the UCA, we believe the GOU is poised to make significant progress in addressing concerns raised in the 1999 IIPA petition. We encourage and request IIPA to engage directly with UCA to expedite this process. TEXT OF CHANGES TO CRIMINAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CODEXES -------------- -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Hafizov provided us with a draft of the amendments to the criminal and administrative codexes. The Russian language text is available upon request from the Embassy Tashkent Pol/Econ office (McCutcheonRA@state.gov). The following is an unofficial translation. BEGIN TEXT OF CODEX CHANGES -- ARTICLE 1. Introduce the following changes and additions into the Administrative Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, approved by the law of Uzbekistan dated 22 September 1994 No.2015 - XII (Bulletins of Upper Council of Uzbekistan, 1995, No. 3, article. 6; Bulletins of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, 1995, No. 9, article. 193, No. 12, article. 269; 1996, No. 5-6, article . 69, No. 9, article. 144; 1997, No. 2, article 56, No. 4-5, article 126, No. 9, article 241; 1998, No. 3, article 38, No. 5- 6, article 102, No. 9, article 181; 1999 , No. 1, article 20, No. 5, article 124, No. 9, article 229; 2000 , No. 5-6, article 153, No. 7-8, article 217; 2001, No. 1-2, article 23, No. 9-10, articles 165,182; 2002, No. 1, article 20, No. 9, article 165; 2003, No. 1, article 8, No. 5, article 67, No. 9-10, article 149; 2004, No. 1-2, article 18, No. 5, article 90, No. 9, article 171; 2005., No. 1, article 18; Bulletins of the Chamber of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, 2005, No. 9, article 312, No. 12, articles 413, 417, 418; 2006, No. 6, article 261, No. 9, article 498, No. 10, article 536, No. 12, articles 656, 659; 2007, No. 4, article 158, 159, 164, 165, No. 9, article 416, 421, No. 12, article 596, 604, 607; 2008, No.4, article 181, 189, 192: 1) Exclude point four in article 155. 2) Article 177 should be written as follows: "Article 177. Violation of copyrights and neighboring rights. Illegal use of works or objects covered by neighboring rights, as well as production, play, distribution, introduction to the general population, storage, transportation of counterfeited items or objects covered by neighboring rights for the purpose of sale or presenting false information on the products about the manufacturer, place of manufacture, as well as about the copyright holders and neighboring rights, are equal to other violations of copyrights and neighboring rights and will result in -- TASHKENT 00001816 004 OF 007 Penalty to citizens in the amount of 15 to 20 times the minimal salary, along with confiscation of counterfeited copies of works and objects covered by neighboring rights, including materials and equipment used for production and distribution, including other devices used in the violation, and penalizing corporate officials from 30 to 40 times the minimal salary along with confiscating counterfeited copies of works and objects covered by neighboring rights, including materials and equipment used for production and distribution, and other devices used in the violation"; 3) Add the following articles 177-1, 177-2, 177-3, 177-4, 177-5 and 263-1 to the Code: "Article 177-1. Refusal to present necessary data about income and presenting false information about income received from use of works and objects of covered by neighboring rights Refusal to present to authorized agencies documents documenting permission to use works and objects covered by neighboring rights and true data on income received from using it, will result in -- Penalty to a citizen in the amount of 5 to 10 times the minimal salary and to corporate officials in the amount of 7 to 15 times the minimal salary; The same violation, committed again during a year in which the administrative penalty has been applied, will result in a penalty of 10 to 15 times the minimal salary, and for corporate officials in the amount of 15 to 20 times the minimal salary. Article 177-2. Violation of the right of the copyright holder to receive a royalty Refusal by the user of works and objects covered by neighboring rights to pay the royalty for a public performance or other use of works or objects covered by neighboring rights or violation of the set deadlines for paying royalty will result in -- Penalty to a citizen in the amount of 10 to 20 times the minimal salary and to corporate officials from 15 to 25 times the minimal salary. Article 177-3. Violation of rights for invention, useful model, industrial sample, selection achievement, topology of integrated microchips Illegal use of an invention, useful model, industrial sample, achievement in selection, topology of integral microchips; disclosure before the official publication date and without the consent of the author or claimant about the essence of the invention, useful model, industrial sample, achievement in selection will result in -- Penalty to a citizen in the amount of 15 to 20 times the minimal salary and to corporate officials from 30 to 40 times the minimal salary; Article 177-4. Illegal use of trademarks, service mark, name of place of origin of goods Illegal use of trademarks, service marks, name of place of origin of goods or of similar goods that could be taken for the original goods or services will result in - Penalty to a citizen in the amount of 10 to 15 times the TASHKENT 00001816 005 OF 007 minimal salary, along with confiscation of items with the illegal trademark, service mark, place of origin, and to corporate officials in the amount from 20 to 30 times the minimal salary. Article 177-5. Illegal use of warning marks in regard to objects of intellectual property Illegal use of warning marks in regard to objects of intellectual property that are legally protected in the Republic of Uzbekistan based on registration in accordance with legislation will result in -- Penalty to a citizen from 10 to 15 times and to corporate officials from 20 to 30 times the minimal salary. Article 263-1. Uzbek Agency for Copyrights. The Uzbek Agency for Copyrights is delegated to cover cases of administrative violation envisaged in articles 177, 177-1 - 177-2. The General Director of the Copyright Agency and his deputies have the right on behalf of the Agency to review cases of administrative violation and apply administrative penalties. 4) In the first part of article 245 the number "177" is to be excluded, after the number "176-3" the numbers "177-3, 177-4, 177-5" are to be added." ARTICLE 2. Introduce the following changes into the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan as allowed for by the laws of Uzbekistan dated 22 September 1994 No. 2012-?II (Bulletin of the Upper Council of Uzbekistan, 1995 , No. 1, article 3; Bulletin of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, 1996 , No. 9, article 144; 1997, No. 2, article 56, No. 9, article 241; 1998, No. 5-6, article 102, No. 9, article 181; 1999, No. 1, article 20, No. 5, article 124, No. 9, article 229; 2000, No. 5-6, article 153; 2001 , No. 1-2, article 23, No. 9-10, article 165; 2002 , No. 9, article 165; 2003 , No. 1, article 8, N 9-10, article 149; 2004, No. 1-2, article 18, No. 9, article 171; Bulletin of Chamber of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, 2005 , No. 9, article 314, No. 12, articles 417, 418; 2006 , No. 6, article 261, No. 12, article 656; 2007, No. 4, articles 158, 166, No. 6, article 248, No. 9, article 416, 422, N 12, article 607; 2008, No. 4, articles 187, 188, 189): 1) In part four of article 17 after the number "146" add the numbers "149, 149-1, 149-2, 149-3". 2) In part one of article 66-1 the wording "article 149 (violation of copyrights and innovation rights" should be changed to "article 149 (violation of copyrights and neighboring rights)" and the following words should be added "article 149-1 (violation of innovation and patent rights),and article 149-2 (illegal use of trademark, service mark, name and place of origin)" 3) Article 149 should be edited in the following way: Article 149. Violation of copyrights and neighboring rights The illegal use of works or objects covered by neighboring rights -- such as performance, distribution, disclosure to the general public, storage, transportation of counterfeited products for profit -- or if on these works and or on objects covered by neighboring rights is placed false information about the manufacturer, place of manufacture, as well as about rights holders, as well TASHKENT 00001816 006 OF 007 as other violations of copyrights and neighboring rights, which resulted in substantial losses or that were committed again within the same year after administrative penalties were imposed will result in - Penalty in the amount of 200 to 400 times minimal salary or imprisonment for up to 2 years with confiscation of counterfeited works and objects covered by neighboring rights, as well as materials and equipment used for their performance and distribution and other devices used in the violation. Actions covered in the first part of the current article, if committed a second time either by a group of people by preliminary agreement or by an organized group will result in -- Penalty of 300 to 600 times minimal salary, arrest from four to six months, or imprisonment from two to five years with confiscation of counterfeited works and objects covered by neighboring rights along with materials, equipment, and other devices used for this violation." 4) Add articles 149-1, 149-2 and 149-3 to the Codex with the following content: "Article 149-1. Violation of rights for invention, useful model, industrial sample, selection achievement, topology of integral microchips Illegal use of an invention, useful model, industrial sample, topology of integral microchips, disclosing the essence of an invention without the consent of the author or claimant, useful model, industrial sample and selection achievements prior to the official publication of data on them -- if committed again within the same year after administrative penalties were applied or if incurring substantial losses - will result in -- Penalty in the amount of 50 to 100 times minimal salary or imprisonment for up to two years. The same actions committed a second time by a group of people by preliminary agreement or by an organized group will result in -- Penalty from 100 to 200 times minimal salary, arrested for four to six months, or imprisonment of up to five years. Article 149-2. Illegal use of trademark, service mark, name of place of origin Illegal use of trademarks, service marks, name of place of origin of goods or of similar goods that could be taken for the original goods or services -- if committed again after administrative penalties were applied or if incurring substantial losses -- will result in Penalty from 50 to 100 times minimal salary or loss of certain rights up to five years, correctional work up to two years, or arrested up to four months. Illegal use of warning marks in regard to trademarks not registered in Uzbekistan or in regard to the name of place of origin, if they caused substantial losses will result in -- Penalty from 50 to 100 times minimal salary or loss of certain rights for up to two years or correctional work up to one year. TASHKENT 00001816 007 OF 007 Article 149-3. Misappropriation of copyright Misappropriation of copyright or forcing co-authorship on works, inventions, useful models, industrial samples, selection achievements, or topologies of integral microchips will result in -- Penalty in the amount of four hundred to seven hundred times minimal salary or imprisonment of from two to five years with confiscation of counterfeited works and objects covered by neighboring rights, as well as materials and equipment used for their performance and distribution and other devices used in the violation." ARTICLE 3. This law will enter into force from the day of its official publication. END TEXT OF CODEX CHANGES. NORLAND