VZCZCXRO1748
PP RUEHFL RUEHNP
DE RUEHRO #1952/01 1881039
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071039Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5285
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 7330
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 1624
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 1554
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 001952 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB A/S SULLIVAN, EB/TPP/IPE JOELLEN URBAN, CANDY GREEN 
STATE PASS USTR FOR JAMES SANFORD 
DOC PASS USPTO 
DOJ FOR DAAG LAURA PARSKY 
DHS PASS ICE 
 
E.O. 12356: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EINV KIPR IT
SUBJECT: ITALY IPR: CHANGING PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF IPR AND ENGAGING 
MAYORS IN COMBATING PIRACY 
 
Refs: A) ROME 1858, B) ROME 05 4046 
 
¶1. This is an action request.  Please see para 7 below. 
 
¶2. Mission Italy has been engaging Italians on the need for good IPR 
protection for over a decade.  We have in particular, and with some 
success, advocated for tough criminal penalties against pirates and 
effective enforcement. As a direct consequence of our efforts, since 
2000, Italy has enacted a series of IPR criminal bills among the 
toughest in Europe.  However, notwithstanding the laws on the books, 
enforcement and sentencing are still inadequate; and judges remain 
the weak link, as many still view piracy/ 
counterfeiting as petty offences.  Since 2003, following the 
signature of a bilateral declaration, we have conducted an 
aggressive sensitization campaign with magistrates and law 
enforcement agencies, including co-hosting with the copyright 
industry an annual sought-after "IPR Judicial Workshop," which is 
starting to pay good dividends (ref A). 
 
¶3.  Sensitizing law enforcement agencies and the magistracy remains 
a priority, but this program alone is not sufficient. Embassy, 
industry associations, and Italian authorities, all believe that 
educating the Italian public to the culture of IPR legality is 
equally important, since most Italians do not perceive piracy as a 
serious offence (ref B).  As one magistrate put it, "If the people 
do not perceive it as a crime, then it is very hard for us to 
prosecute piracy, even if the laws are on the books." 
 
¶4. Mission Italy has been considering a series of public  education 
outreach including: further discussions with the GOI, public events 
involving the Ambassador and Consul Generals, press interviews, as 
well as seminars and workshops.  We will conduct such public 
education efforts largely in partnership with Italian authorities 
and Italian IPR organizations, as we believe this approach makes 
sense politically and financially (i.e., the costs of such 
activities would be shared). 
 
¶5.  One idea is to engage local authorities and mayors, in 
particular.  Mayors play a key role in public opinion making, as 
they are close to the people and are the most respected and trusted 
politicians.  We envision Embassy and Consulates approaching mayors 
(with the Ambassador possibly writing the most important mayors in 
advance to highlight our proposal) to develop joint public education 
strategies.  As this project will require a country wide-effort, we 
would like to obtain USG agencies' endorsement beforehand. (ConGen 
Florence, which proposed this project, has already approached the 
Florence mayor and has found him eager to collaborate.  He is also 
currently chairing the national mayors' association, ANCI.  ANCI is 
also interested in possibly collaborating with us on public IPR 
education efforts.) 
 
¶6.  We would suggest the following talking points in our meetings 
with mayors: 
 
- Italy and the United States have a longstanding tradition of 
collaboration in protecting Intellectual Property Rights. 
 
- Protecting IP is in Italy's interest, as much as it is in the 
interest of the United States. 
 
- Western societies find themselves in a post-industrial era where 
ideas and innovation will be key for continued economic growth. 
 
- Protecting our innovations and ideas, through copyrights, patents 
or trademarks, thus becomes essential for our societies, our 
democracies, and our people. 
 
- We also both understand that piracy and counterfeiting nourish 
organized crime and penalize the legal economy, with implications 
for tax collection and job losses. 
 
- Italy has excellent IPR laws on the books.  Enforcement agencies 
and the magistracy are making an effort to enforce these laws. 
 
- However, the Italian public does not perceive IPR theft as a crime 
because they do not see the dark backstage of piracy -- organized 
crime, trafficking of human beings, tax evasion, job losses. 
 
 
ROME 00001952  002 OF 002 
 
 
- All levels of Italian government should make Italian citizens 
aware that IPR theft is not a simple petty offence and that 
protecting IPR is essential also to protect the ideas of Italian 
citizens and businesses. 
 
- While we are working with central authorities, we also invite 
mayors, who are the closest to the people, to take on a key role in 
promoting this important cultural awareness. 
 
- We would like to share our ideas with you and possibly join forces 
in this challenge, so important to our economies and our cultures. 
 
End suggested talking points. 
 
¶7.  Action requested:  Post requests that Washington agencies 
endorse our plan to engage mayors and approve the above talking 
points.  As we would like to move forward as soon as possible, post 
would appreciate a prompt response.  End action requested. 
 
 
Spogli