VZCZCXRO3909
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHFR #6007 2501527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071527Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1113
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2480
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS PARIS 006007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EB/IPE AND EUR/WE 
DEPT PLS PASS USTR FOR SANFORD 
COMMERCE FOR JDEVINE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ETRD FR
SUBJECT:  MPAA CEO GLICKMAN "OK" ON FRENCH COPYRIGHT LAW 
 
REF: PARIS 5242 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, NOT FOR INTERNET 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY. Movie Picture Association of America (MPAA) CEO 
Dan Glickman informed Ambassador Stapleton September 7 that the U.S. 
film industry is in a better position on the French Copyright law, 
following the toughening up of penalties for copyright infringements 
by the French Constitutional Court July 27 (reftel).  However, 
concerns remain about the level of future enforcement and the scope 
of the proposed new Regulatory Authority.  End Summary. 
 
MPAA Perspective 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Glickman (and Senior Vice President Chris Marcich and 
Legal Counsel Laurence Djolakian) expressed satisfaction with the 
Constitutional Court's July 27 ruling, and noted that the ruling 
turned out "as positive as one could have hoped for regarding 
penalties."  A lot of "misinformation" is out there according to the 
MPAA about the French position, as people are still fixated on the 
debate that took place in Parliament earlier this year and not on 
the later ruling by the Constitutional Court. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Glickman said for the U.S. film industry the text of the 
law is "livable" but that the larger concern is the political drive 
and popular support that still exists in Europe to take further 
steps on property rights issues counter to U.S. interests.  Glickman 
said that the MPAA is not overly concerned about the 
interoperability requirements of the legislation, which is more of 
an issue for Apple and the BSA. 
 
Ministry of Culture - Next steps according to de Vabres 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Glickman, who met with Minister of Culture de Vabres 
September 6 in what he described as a "friendly and open" meeting, 
relayed de Vabres intention not to wait until after the French 
presidential elections, but to move forward in the coming months 
with the implementation of the law and that he hopes to have the new 
regulatory authority in place before Christmas.  Glickman noted that 
de Vabres commented that the Ministry of Culture is working with the 
Ministry of Justice on "instructions" to judges regarding 
enforcement of the new law.  MPAA believes this may include a "two 
tiered" approach with the focus on large down loaders of content and 
not on individuals. 
 
Way Forward 
----------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) MPAA believes now is not the time to aggressively attack 
the French position as this will likely stir up a divisive debate 
that could become a political issue in the run up to France's 
presidential elections next spring.  Glickman also pointed out that 
over 60 percent of revenue for the U.S. film industry comes from 
Europe.  Glickman believes the USG should continue to "come down on 
the side of property rights" in our discussions with the French, but 
recognizes that the way content is delivered is in constant 
evolution and we need "to thread a needle" on this issue. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) COMMENT: Embassy appreciates that other sectors of the 
industry are less sanguine about the law than MPAA.  Representatives 
of digital rights management systems in particular remain concerned 
about mandated interoperability requirements.  With media reports 
indicating Minister of Interior and likely presidential contender 
Nicholas Sarkozy recently held a low-key reception with the French 
entertainment industry to talk about the copyright law, this issue 
remains very much on the radar screen. 
 
Stapleton#