VZCZCXRO3992
RR RUEHAG
DE RUEHTH #1881/01 2001344
ZNY EEEEE ZZH
R 191344Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6192
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS E F T O SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001881 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/KNAJDI/JKIMBALL 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRDGR
SUBJECT: IP COORDINATORS ADVANCE U.S. AGENDA IN GREECE 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Department of Commerce Senior Advisor to 
the U.S. Intellectual Property Coordinator, Wayne Paugh, 
and David Brener, on detail to the IP Coordinator's office 
from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, met with 
senior Greek Government officials over two days, July 14- 
15, to discuss U.S. concerns with Greece's IPR regime and 
the implementation of an Action Plan.  Although Greece was 
not included as a Watch Country in the 2006 Special 301 
Report issued by the U.S. Trade Representative this year, 
concerns were such that an Action Plan was developed to 
address IPR weaknesses in Greece.   The visit from the 
Commerce IPR Coordinator's office was productive in helping 
us demonstrate the high-level USG interest on IPR, 
especially vis-a-vis the Action Plan for Greece.   The tone 
and tenor of the senior level meetings was open and 
positive, with the Greek interlocutors making a concerted 
effort to detail steps they have taken and to propose and 
discuss possible additional steps.  The coordination of the 
Secretary of the Greek Government, responsible for setting 
 
SIPDIS 
the agenda for cabinet meetings, was responsible for 
bringing the visit of the U.S. officials to the attention 
of the relevant Ministers. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Greece was removed from the Special 301 Watch List 
in 2003.   Deputy Finance Minister Folias confided to us 
that the current government leadership does not want Greece 
to fall back onto the Watch List, and will make every 
effort to avoid a recurrence.   His positive attitude 
contrasts sharply with many mid-level working officials who 
have, unfortunately, been less responsive. 
 
¶3. (U) U.S. IP Coordinator staff met with the following 
Greek Government representatives. 
Ms. Helen Louri-Dendrinou, Economic Advisor to the Prime 
Minister. 
Ms. Domna Kyrzopoulou, Economic Advisor to the Justice 
Minister. 
Mr. Christos Folias, Deputy Finance Minister. 
Mr. Elias Argyros, Executive Secretary, Special Financial 
Investigations Service. 
Dr. Constantinos Polyzogopoulos, Director, Hellenic 
Copyright Organization. 
Mr. Manousos Voloudakis, Secretary General, Ministry of 
Development. 
Mr. George Kounadis, Director, Ministry of Finance. 
 
¶4. (U) Ambassador Ries met with the U.S. officials at the 
beginning of their program.  The American Hellenic Chamber 
of Commerce hosted a luncheon on the occasion of the visit, 
which included representatives from the IT and apparel 
sectors, BSA, MPAA, business consultants and lawyers.  Mr. 
Paugh and Mr. Brener were accompanied by the Senior 
Commercial Officer and either FCS or ECON staff or both to 
all meetings. 
 
¶5. (U) At all meetings, Mr. Paugh explained that the IP 
Coordinator's Office is primarily responsible for helping 
implement a White House initiative to coordinate IP policy 
across different agencies, and that it enjoys bi-partisan 
and bi-cameral Congressional support.   He briefed Greek 
government and business officials on the STOP (Strategy 
Targeting Organized Piracy) initiative, and relayed the 
message that IPR was now a priority at the highest levels 
of the U.S. government, including Secretary Gutierrez and 
President Bush.   He noted that 40% of U.S. economic growth 
depends on intellectual property, and over 50% of U.S. 
exports are linked in some way to intellectual property. 
 
¶6. (U) The U.S. delegation complimented Greek officials on 
the legal infrastructure in place, but urged that more 
attention and resources be devoted to sustained enforcement 
and training in general.  The meetings yielded useful 
information about a range of steps taken, challenges faced 
by the Greek government, and areas where the U.S. 
government might be able to assist.   The following are 
salient points discussed. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Judicial:  The independence of the judicial branch 
was cited as a major obstacle to increased enforcement of 
IPR violations.   In the past the Justice Ministry has 
issued circulars to all judges reminding them of the 
importance of vigorous enforcement of IPR laws.  In May, 
the President of the Judicial Training Academy agreed to 
begin training new judges in IPR issues.  No action has 
been taken yet.   It was asked whether the U.S. Government 
could support a colloquium for judges, in collaboration 
 
ATHENS 00001881  002 OF 003 
 
 
with the European Union, WIPO or the USPTO. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Administrative Penalties:  A Joint Committee has 
been established under the auspices of the Culture Ministry 
(Hellenic Copyright Organization) to review the adequacy of 
current IPR law and the issue of administrative penalties 
in particular.  The Business Software Alliance supports the 
use of administrative penalties while the Motion Picture 
Association of America opposes its application to audio- 
visual works.  Although currently split on the decision to 
introduce administrative penalties, the Greek Government 
views the use of administrative penalties positively from 
the point of view of state revenue.   The Ministries of 
Culture, Finance and Justice are supportive of 
administrative penalties. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Upstream Producers/Distributors:  Deputy Finance 
Minister Folias mentioned the need for Greece to implement 
a strategy to identify upstream producers/distributors of 
pirated merchandise.   Although the Development Ministry 
has competency in control and monitoring of retail markets, 
only the police or the Special Financial Service have the 
authority to pursue upstream producers and distributors. 
Coordination with Justice, Culture and Public Order would 
also be required. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Trademark:  The Development Ministry is in the 
process of drafting a bill to transpose an E.U. directive 
on trademarks and criminal penalties for violations.  It is 
expected to be submitted to Parliament in September.  The 
new law would enable the Ministry to levy administrative 
fines on the spot, similar to the Special Financial 
Investigation Service.  Checks of the retail market show a 
marked increase in both seizures and prosecutions.  A 2005 
Retail Market Law clarified and confirmed the ability of 
Greek authorities to destroy confiscated products.   Greek 
authorities believe that much of the pirated trademarked 
items enter Greece from other EU countries, especially 
Italy. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Communication:  It was noted that Greek consumers 
do not view piracy as a legal or moral issue.  Purchasing 
pirated products is not a crime in Greece.  It was 
suggested that a communication effort be made to address 
public opinion in this area, and to make the public aware 
of health and safety issues associated with pirated 
products and the negative impact it has on popular Greek 
artists and the economy of Greece overall.  AmCham 
volunteered to participate in such an outreach effort. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Special Financial Investigations Service: 
Perhaps the most encouraging news came from this office. 
As part of a broader government effort to pursue tax 
evasion, fraud, smuggling and other financial crimes, this 
service has been given additional resources in the form of 
well-trained personnel, IT equipment, vehicles, etc.  The 
service recently sent out letters to large companies, over 
4,000 in total, giving them 20 days to respond with 
information on the number and type of software licenses 
held.   Plans are to audit those companies who do not 
respond and to do spot checks of others.   This control 
will be announced in all the Greek economic newspapers. 
All information will be entered into a new database that 
will be the primary tool to monitor compliance.  By the end 
of this year, the Service plans to target approximately 
15,000 smaller (less than 50 employees) companies for the 
same exercise. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Customs/Police:  Several officials asked whether 
the U.S. Government could assist in training Greek customs 
and police officers or whether the U.S. Government could 
assist in identifying best practices.  It was noted at the 
AmCham conference that Greek customs lacks an adequate IT 
platform, that Greek police are not knowledgeable about IP 
law, and that there is a lack of standardized procedures 
across Greece.  AmCham officials also volunteered to 
coordinate a seminar on training of customs and police. 
Past success appears to be the result of personal 
connections and a willingness on the part of individual 
companies to invest the time and resources into training 
Greek authorities. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Integrity of Statistical Data:  In two meetings, 
Greek officials questioned the methodology used and general 
accuracy of the data used as part of the Special 301 
process. 
 
ATHENS 00001881  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
We believe that there are a number of very positive 
developments in Greece, and that post can and will sustain 
our engagement in the following areas. 
 
Monitor progress of Special Financial Services unit in 
carrying out its plans targeting software piracy. 
 
Follow up with the Finance Ministry regarding efforts to 
fashion an aggressive strategy to pursue upstream producers 
and/or distributors. 
 
Track the transposition of EU directives on trademark law 
and criminal penalties. 
 
Explore with the Justice Ministry ways in which to support 
training of judges, perhaps offering U.S. Government 
resources if appropriate.  Ensure that the IP training for 
new judges is implemented as promised. 
 
Determine whether the U.S. Government can offer any 
assistance in training of Greek customs and police. 
 
Discuss with stakeholders the need and modalities of a 
public communication campaign to shape Greek public opinion 
about piracy. 
 
RIES