VZCZCXRO9666
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1781/01 2360959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240959Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6460
INFO RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 2734
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 7846
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 5331
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 4214
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 5607
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 6415
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCPDO/USDOC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001781 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USTR - CRONIN/SULLIVAN 
NSC FOR FEARS 
AID/W FOR LAC 
TREASURY FOR OASIA 
USDOC FOR 4332/ITA/MAC/WH/OLAC/JANDERSEN/ADRISCOLL/MWAR D 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USCS/OIO/WH/RD/SHUPKA 
USPTO FOR PINKOS 
DOJ FOR MERRIAM 
HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER FOR ICE OIA BRYAN EVANS 
ALSO FOR ICE NATIONAL IPR COORDINATION CENTER 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR KCRM ETRD BR
SUBJECT: Brazil:  Copyright Piracy Six Months Later 
 
REF:   Brasilia 993 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary.  In January 2006, a USG interagency community 
closed U.S. industry's petition, based upon lax enforcement of 
copyright piracy, to strip Brazil of GSP eligibility.  Since then, 
both the Brazilian government and U.S. firms report advances in 
terms of seizures and law enforcement.  Brazil's National 
Anti-Piracy Council (CNCP), they state, has been effective in moving 
its 99-point anti-piracy action plan forward.  Particularly 
noteworthy has been the realization by Brazilian government and 
industry that while copyright piracy hurts U.S. firms, it injures 
Brazilians even more.  Meanwhile, the U.S. Mission continues to work 
cooperatively with Brazil in training local law enforcement with 
respect to copyright piracy.  Although one of the leaders among 
Brazil's cadre of IPR lawyers acknowledged the progress in terms of 
enforcement actions, he argued that the situation as a whole has not 
really changed.  More still needs to be done, he said, to strengthen 
border controls, tighten legal penalties, and promote more active 
efforts by states and localities (especially in Rio de Janeiro). 
All would agree, however, that as Brazil moves forward, maintaining 
the momentum will require constant and permanent vigilance and the 
continued expenditure of government/industry resources.  End 
Summary. 
 
MPA's Views 
----------- 
¶2. (SBU)  Local Motion Picture Association Executives (MPA) were 
fairly upbeat on the progress Brazil has made since the beginning of 
the year.  Looking at the situation in terms of the specific USTR 
follow-up criteria (below), they noted that: 
 
--  Enforcement actions on the Brazil-Paraguay border have shown a 
great improvement.  During the first six months of 2006, Brazil 
seized 6,999,848 pirate burned optical discs and 29,860,173 blank 
optical discs, the latter figure representing more than 90 percent 
of the total of blank discs seized in all of Latin America.  (Note: 
While the lion's share of the Brazilian seizures took place on the 
Brazil-Paraguay border, some did occur elsewhere.) 
 
--  The GOB has conducted anti-piracy raids in key black markets 
(for instance, in Sao Paulo at the Stand Center and Avenida 25 de 
Marco, and in Brasilia at the Feira Paraguaia) with very positive 
results.  Nevertheless, many of these sites remain operational and 
continue to pose an IPR threat.  (See reftel.) 
 
--  The National Anti-Piracy Council (CNCP) has launched educational 
and media campaigns against piracy to raise awareness of the 
anti-piracy fight.  For instance, the CNCP participated in the 
Customs Union anti-piracy campaign (UNAFISCO), launched at Bahia's 
carnival in 2006. 
 
--  Problems persist with respect to prosecutions.  Criminal law 
enforcement is slow and very seldom the indicted are convicted or 
actually serve jail time when they are.  The MPA's anti-piracy arm 
(ADEPI) oversees more than 8,200 cases and so far in 2006 only 15 
have resulted in sentences. 
 
--  The CNCP has been very active and played a very important role 
in encouraging the establishment and formation of joint state and 
municipal IPR teams to focus on priority locations.  Nevertheless, 
in key cities such as Sao Paulo, Campinas, and Rio de Janeiro, as 
well as in state capitals, pressure must be continually applied to 
keep momentum going. 
 
--  The CNCP is continually working to implement the Action items in 
its National Action Plan, although many of the priorities, such as 
focusing mainly on black markets, educational campaigns and border 
controls, demand constant and permanent vigilance and resources. 
 
--  All industries continue to participate in the CNCP and it is a 
 
BRASILIA 00001781  002 OF 002 
 
 
vital forum for the Brazil's valuable anti-piracy efforts. 
 
GOB Self-Assessment: We're Doing Great 
-------------------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU)  Not surprisingly, Ministry of External Relations (MRE) 
officials awarded the GOB stellar grades for its early 2006 
copyright piracy performance.  They reported that the amount of 
goods seized (measured in Brazilian reais) increased 24 percent from 
January to March 2005 compared to the corresponding period in 2006. 
Their two-month (January-February 2006) figures reflected the 
dramatic increase in seizures of blank and pirate optical media that 
the six-month MPA numbers demonstrated.  In addition, they produced 
a list of raids in major raids which took place during the first 
quarter of 2006 in major cities such as Brasilia, Boa Vista, 
Fortaleza, Recife, Natal, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, 
Angra, Sao Paulo, and Foz do Iguacu.  The continuing series of 
enforcement actions in Foz at the Friendship Bridge from January to 
March 2006 resulted in the seizure of 37 autos, 22 trucks, and 
R$33,375,639 in contraband.  Our MRE contacts, however, did not 
produce statistics demonstrating any significant increases in 
convictions for piracy offenses. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  For its part, Brazilian customs observes that its 
seizures increased 32.3% (measured in reais) from June to January 
2006 compared to the same period the year before.  Meanwhile, the 
upcoming opening of an expanded customs inspection station at the 
Foz Bridge should increase the GOB's monitoring capacity even more. 
 
 
Dissenting Opinion from the Local IPR Bar 
----------------------------------------- 
¶5.  (SBU)  A Rio-based attorney specializing in IPR cases was less 
optimistic.  In a conversation with AmConsulate Rio's ECON/POL 
assistant, he acknowledged that the Ministry of Justice and Customs 
had stepped up enforcement but wondered whether this increased 
activity was sustainable.  Customs inspections are either lax or 
non-existent at night, he observed, thereby allowing contraband to 
freely enter the country after-hours.  Moreover, he added, the GOB 
has declined to "seriously review" its criminal procedure code to 
facilitate the application of criminal penalties to IPR violators. 
Finally, while the states of Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul have 
created IPR task-forces, Rio, he stated, has not (although it has 
set up anti-piracy police units). 
 
Budding USG-Brazil Training and Law Enforcement Cooperation 
---------------------- ------------------------- ---------- 
¶6.  (SBU)  Brazil has proven receptive to embarking upon a law 
enforcement dialogue with the U.S. on anti-piracy issues.  Over the 
past year, Brazilian and U.S. delegations have exchanged visits and 
conducted periodic consultations on a wide range of issues, from IPR 
information sharing to customs procedures.  In addition, in 
conjunction with ADEPI, Mission has used INL and USTDA funding to 
conduct a series of copyright piracy training sessions throughout 
the country for law enforcement personnel.  DHS trainers work with 
Brazilian counterparts to sensitize these officials to the issues 
involved in working with copyright piracy. 
 
Sobel