VZCZCXRO6295
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #2219/01 1242134
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 042134Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6745
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0407
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 002219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/MEX/ROTH AND EB/TPP/MTA/IPC/WALLACE 
STATE PASS USTR FOR 
EISSENSTAT/ESPINEL/MCCOY/BAE/MELLE/SHIGETOMI 
STATE PASS COPYRIGHT OFFICE 
USDOC FOR 4320/ITA/MAC/ONAFTA/WORD AND 
OIPR/STEPHENS/WILSON/WRIGHT 
USDOJ FOR CCIPS/MERRIAM/KOUAME 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ETRD PINS MX CH
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON MEXICO IPR ISSUES - SOME ENCOURAGING 
SIGNS 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 56579 B. MEXICO 1678 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Mexican officials responded positively to Post's 301 
demarche, reflecting a growing sense of commitment to taking 
IPR infringement more seriously.  In recent weeks, President 
Calderon reiterated his government's determination to combat 
piracy, the Mexican Senate passed a bill that would give 
authorities ex officio authority to pursue pirates and 
counterfeiters, Mexico joined the U.S. as a third party in 
our WTO consultations with China regarding its failure to 
honor its IPR obligations, and the Prosecutor General of the 
Republic (PGR - equivalent of U.S. Department of Justice) 
finished staffing its IPR team and is set to launch an IPR 
website.  Separately, the American Chamber of Commerce will 
inaugurate its IPR Committee later this month.  Next week's 
visit of Commerce Under Secretary Lavin and the upcoming 
meeting of the SPP working group on IPR provide opportunities 
for recognizing the advances made to date and pushing for 
further progress.  End summary. 
 
Mexico's response to 301 ranking 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Post delivered the 301 demarche contained in reftel 
A to Jorge Amigo, the Director General of the Mexican 
Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI - equivalent of the 
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), Felipe Munoz, the Deputy 
Prosecutor General of the Republic for Federal Crimes, 
Beatriz Leycegui, the Under Secretary of Economy for 
International Trade Relations, and Genaro Gutierrez, the 
Deputy Administrator for Investigations of Mexican Customs. 
All of our interlocutors readily admitted that Mexico has 
serious IPR problems, but insisted they plan to deal with 
them head-on.  While not necessarily enamored of the 301 
exercise, they expressed satisfaction that Mexico had not 
been downgraded to the Priority Watch List this year, and 
reiterated the Mexican government's commitment to cooperating 
with the U.S., both bilaterally and via the trilateral 
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). 
We should note that some Mexican IPR officials told us during 
the previous Fox Administration that, though they would 
prefer to stay off of the Priority Watch List, Mexico's 
inclusion on the Watch List helped keep top leaders focused 
on IPR. 
 
Strong support from the top 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) We cannot say if President Calderon pays attention to 
Mexico's 301 ranking, but he has continued his tough talk on 
IPR enforcement in public (see reftel B for a speech he gave 
in March).  At a meeting of the Mexican shoe industry on 
April 26, he once again voiced his government's commitment to 
cracking down on the illegal economy and "decisively 
combating counterfeiting and piracy to protect investment and 
jobs in our country."  We believe that the President's strong 
rhetoric on this theme is helping energize the relevant parts 
of the federal bureaucracy. 
 
PGR IPR team complete, looking for results in 2007 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In a May 2 meeting with Econoffs and visiting DOJ 
IPR prosecutor Marie-Flore Kouame, PGR Deputy Prosecutor 
General Munoz and the newly appointed head of PGR's 
Specialized Unit for the Investigation of IP Crimes -- Jose 
Luis Cervantes -- laid out their strategy for cracking down 
on IPR infringement.  Cervantes, who most recently served as 
Mexico's legal attache in Guatemala City and has lived in 
both Washington DC and San Antonio, Texas, said he wants to 
work more closely with PGR's intelligence unit to focus less 
on street vendors and more on the higher echelons of the 
criminal organizations that run Mexico's piracy and 
counterfeiting operations.  Cervantes was also very 
 
MEXICO 00002219  002 OF 003 
 
 
enthusiastic about U.S.-sponsored training opportunities. 
Munoz, who previously held Cervantes' position and is now his 
boss, said that the interagency collaboration among PGR, 
Mexican Customs, IMPI, and local police has resulted in a 
much better coordinated and effective Mexican IPR enforcement 
regime, which is operating in an increasingly aggressive 
manner.  Munoz said that his boss, Prosecutor General of the 
Republic (equivalent of our Attorney General) Eduardo Medina 
Mora, has made clear that he wants decisive results in IPR 
enforcement by the end of 2007.  Munoz said he plans to 
deliver, but noted that industry will have to do its part as 
well, including by making available legitimate products that 
are affordable to the average Mexican.  One tool that he 
believes will improve coordination with the private sector is 
the launch later this month of PGR's IP website, which will 
contain resources and links, news of enforcement successes, a 
suggestions board, and an anonymous e-mail box for 
informants.  Munoz also predicted that legislative amendments 
granting ex officio power to pursue pirates and 
counterfeiters would make it much easier for PGR to obtain 
convictions and jail time for these sorts of criminals. 
 
Senate passes ex officio amendment 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On the same day as President Calderon's speech, the 
full Senate passed amendments to Mexico's penal code and IPR 
laws that would make the production, storage, transport, 
import, and sale of pirated goods a serious crime (delito 
grave) and provide the precise ex officio authority to pursue 
such crime that PGR seeks.  Those convicted could be 
imprisoned for up to six years and fined up to US 150,000 
dollars, though penalties could be reduced if a defendant 
shares information about where and from whom he obtained the 
infringing goods in question.  Alejandro Gonzalez Alcocer, 
chair of the Senate Justice Committee that shepherded the 
bill through to passage, remarked that it passed with an 
overwhelming majority.  He said this reflected the national 
sense of urgency related to protecting and fostering the 
country's legitimate economy, and pointed out that reducing 
prison terms for small-fry street vendors and exempting 
consumers from criminal prosecution altogether helped bring 
onboard the left-leaning parties, who did not want poor 
people to bear the brunt of stronger enforcement.  The 
Chamber of Deputies had passed a similar bill several years 
ago.  The Senate version contains slight changes that must 
still be approved by the Chamber when Congress re-convenes in 
September.  According to Gonzalez, who has discussed this 
bill with Cesar Camacho, chairman of the Chamber's Justice 
Committee, it should be passed into law easily. 
 
U/S Lavin, SPP, WTO, AmCham 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Commerce Under Secretary Lavin will visit Mexico 
City next week and has a meeting scheduled with Jorge Amigo, 
Director General of IMPI.  This meeting will present an 
excellent opportunity to reiterate the concerns outlined in 
our 301 demarche, recognize the early advances achieved by 
the Calderon Administration, and press for further progress. 
We predict U/S Lavin will find his intelocutors receptive on 
all fronts.  In fact, Mexico is hosting the upcoming meeting 
of the SPP working group on intellectual property in Cancun, 
where we hope to nail down deliverables for the presidential 
SPP summit to be held in Canada in August.  One already 
accomplished actio item pertains to trilateral cooperation in 
addressing IPR infringement from countries outside of North 
America.  Both Mexico and Canada formally requested to 
participate as interested third parties in the WTO dispute 
the U.S. recently filed against China for failing to honor 
its IPR commitments under the WTO's Agreement on 
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 
(TRIPS).  As we continue to strengthen our cooperation with 
the GOM on protecting IPR, we expect to have an important new 
ally when the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico launches 
its IPR Committee this month.  The Mission intends to 
coordinate closely with AmCham on IPR training, lobbying, and 
 
MEXICO 00002219  003 OF 003 
 
 
public awareness campaigns. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) While the above developments are positive, we remain 
at an early stage in the implementation and sustained 
execution of an effective GOM IPR strategy.  The current 
signs are certainly welcome, but concrete results (e.g., 
convictions and jail time for pirates and counterfeiters, 
increased market share for legitimate products) and follow 
through over the coming months and years will be key to real 
progress in this very troublesome area.  End comment. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
GARZA