VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAH #0315/01 0821000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231000Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7122

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000315 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY), EB/IPE (CLACROSSE, EFELSING), 
INL (HOOKER), INL/C/CP (JVIGIL) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR BTIO ETRD ECON SNAR TX
SUBJECT: IP ENFORCEMENT TRAINING IN TURKMENISTAN FY 2006 
PROPOSAL 
 
Ref: A. State 034733 
     ¶B. Ashgabat 256 
     ¶C. Ashgabat 207 
 
¶1.   Turkmenistan is on the 2006 Special 301 Watch List. 
Education on basic IPR concepts and law enforcement 
training is requisite to the permanent removal of 
Turkmenistan from this List.  Embassy Ashgabat 
enthusiastically submits the following project proposal 
per ref A in order to develop the GOTX's IPR law 
enforcement capacity through USG-sponsored IPR education 
and training. 
 
¶2.  Project Proposal 
 
¶A. PROJECT TITLE: IPR BASIC-CONCEPTS TRAINING FOR GOTX 
OFFICIALS.  LAW ENFORCEMENT(90). 
 
¶B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE TRAINING 
IS TO IMPROVE THE ENFORCEMENT AND PROTECTION OF 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS BASED ON EXISTING 
LEGISLATION.  THE TRAINING WILL HIGHLIGHT DEFICIENT AREAS 
OF COMPLIANCE IN TURKMENISTAN'S COPYRIGHT LAWS. 
The project builds on USG-funded efforts under the U.S.- 
Central Asia TIFA agreement.  A State Customs Service 
representative from Turkmenistan attended the WIPO-UN/ECE- 
WCO sub-regional seminar on enforcement of intellectual 
property rights and a TIFA working group meeting held in 
Almaty, Kazakhstan in July 2005.  The participant told 
Poloff that all law enforcement officers in Turkmenistan 
should have this type of training.  Additionally, a 
representative from the Ministry of the Interior (MVD) 
attended a USPTO Global Intellectual Property Academy on 
Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights from January 
24-27, at USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and 
confirmed that IPR training for Turkmenistani law 
enforcement officers is essential to ensure proper IPR 
enforcement.  Poloff IPR meetings in 2005 with MVD and 
Ministry of Culture (MOC) officials, coupled with the SCS 
feedback, confirms significant lack of IPR awareness 
among GOTX law enforcement officials.  Three distinct 
GOTX agencies have already expressed interest in basic 
IPR training. 
 
Turkmenistan has not adopted a discrete copyright law and 
consequently does not provide any protection to foreign 
sound recordings or pre-existing works.  IPR enforcement 
is inadequate because the Customs Code does not provide 
ex officio authority to seize suspected infringing 
material at the border.  There are no known civil ex 
parte search procedures.  According to the Chief of the 
MVD Economic Crimes Department, "not a single IPR 
criminal case has been initiated in Turkmenistan during 
the last 15 years," despite the existence of 
corresponding legislation (Criminal Code article 153). 
The concepts of intellectual property and copyright are 
new for Turkmenistan and neither numerous distributors of 
pirated optical media nor the majority of police officers 
know that it is a crime. 
 
The proposed training would: 
 
--1) Raise awareness about IPR protection and violation 
among legislative and law enforcement agencies to better 
understand relevant international standards and allow 
more efficient legislation and law enforcement 
activities; 
 
-- 2) Develop skills for police, customs, prosecutors and 
other relevant law enforcement officials aimed at 
improving the agencies' capacities to protect IPR and 
preventing transshipments of pirated and counterfeit 
goods through a cooperative training program. 
 
Both objectives contribute to post's MPP goals to 
establish stronger rule of law through law enforcement 
capacity building and promoting economic development 
through creating better foreign investment opportunities. 
 
The project includes the following activities: 
 
-- 1) Police, customs, prosecutors, judicial officers and 
officials from relevant legislative and law enforcement 
agencies will attend a USPTO enforcement training course 
in the United States; 
 
-- 2) USG-funded conference defining international 
standards for the protection of IPR and evaluating the 
potential for local IPR protection organized in 
cooperation with the MVD, the SCS, the Prosecutor 
 
General, the Ministry of Justice, the Mejlis 
(Parliament), the MOC and other relevant agencies, 
focused on basic IPR concepts, IPR protection and 
enforcement, transshipment issues and tools on how to 
prevent the transshipment of pirated and counterfeit 
goods. 
 
¶C. RESOURCES REQUESTED:  TOTAL PROJECT EXPENSES WILL 
AMOUNT TO USD 90,000.  AN IPR ENFORCEMENT COURSE AT USPTO 
FOR 10 GOTX PARTICIPANTS WILL COST USD 56,000, AND THE 
CONFERENCE IN TURKMENISTAN FOR 40 PARTICIPANTS WITH 3 
GUEST SPEAKERS WILL COST USD 34,000. 
 
¶D. RESOURCE JUSTIFICATION: A ONE-WEEK USPTO ENFORCEMENT 
TRAINING COURSE FOR TEN OFFICIALS FROM FIVE GOTX AGENCIES 
DEALING WITH IPR ISSUES.  THE COURSE WILL INTRODUCE 
PARTICIPANTS TO BASIC IPR CONCEPTS, ENFORCEMENT NECESSITY 
AND PRACTICE.  THE IPR BASIC CONCEPTS AND ENFORCEMENT 
CONFERENCE IN TURKMENISTAN FEATURING THREE INTERNATIONAL 
SPEAKERS, IDEALLY FROM USPTO, DOJ AND WORLD INTELLECTUAL 
PROPERTY ORGANIZATION (WIPO), WILL COMPLEMENT THE USPTO 
TRAINING BY EDUCATING 40 GOTX LAW ENFORCEMENT, JUDICIARY 
AND LEGISLATIVE OFFICIALS ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND 
ITS INVIOLABILITY, A CONCEPT STILL NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD 
BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CONSUMERS IN TURKMENISTAN.  RUSSIAN- 
LANGUAGE MATERIALS ON IPR WILL BE DISTRIBUTED DURING THE 
CONFERENCE AS FUTURE REFERENCE MATERIAL.  TRAVEL EXPENSES 
WILL CONSUME MOST OF THE REQUESTED FUNDS, A NECESSARY AND 
WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT.  THE PROJECT WILL ALSO IDENTIFY 
LEGISLATIVE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT NEEDS THAT WILL EXPAND 
THE CURRENT LONG-TERM GOTX/USG BILATERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 
PROGRAMS. 
 
(E) PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS:  PERMANENT REMOVAL FROM THE 
SPECIAL 301 WATCH LIST WILL BE AN INDICATOR OF A 
SUCCESSFUL AND SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM.  THE FOLLOWING 
PROJECT OUTCOMES ARE ANTICIPATED AS STEPS TOWARD REMOVAL: 
 
-- FIRST-EVER PROSECUTORIAL EVIDENCE THAT IPR VIOLATORS 
ARE BEING APPREHENDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH CRIMINAL CODE 
ARTICLE 153 THAT PROVIDES SANCTIONS FOR COPYRIGHT AND 
NEIGHBORING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. 
 
-- USG EXPERTS WORK WITH GOTX OFFICIALS TO DRAFT RELEVANT 
IPR PROTECTION LEGISLATION.  SPECIFICALLY, DRAFTING A NEW 
COPYRIGHT LAW THAT PROVIDES STRONGER GUARANTEES FOR IPR 
PROTECTION RELATED TO OPTICAL MEDIA. 
 
¶3.  (U) Post welcomes the opportunity to discuss further 
the training proposals.  Embassy point of contact is 
Pol/Econ Officer Carla Gonneville 
(GonnevilleCA@state.gov). 
 
JACOBSON