VZCZCXRO3806
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #3297/01 1732123
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 222123Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7613
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0970

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 003297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/MEX/ROTH AND EB/TPP/MTA/IPC/WALLACE 
STATE PASS USTR FOR 
EISSENSTAT/ESPINEL/MELLE/SHIGETOMI/BAE/MCCOY 
STATE PASS COPYRIGHT OFFICE 
COMMERCE FOR ITA/JACOBS/WORD/WILSON/WRIGHT/ISRAEL 
COMMERCE PASS USPTO 
JUSTICE FOR CCIPS/MERRIAM/KOUAME/GARLAND 
DHS FOR CBP/RANDAZZO AND ICE/JLOZANO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR PINS ECON ETRD MX CH
SUBJECT: JUNE 2007 PRE-CANCUN IPR UPDATE 
 
REF: (A) MEXICO 1678 (B) MEXICO 2219 (C) MEXICO 3266 
     (D) MEXICO 2852 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) President Calderon's National Development Plan 
included a paragraph on the importance of IPR protection. 
Calderon had IPR talking points for his meeting with Chinese 
President Hu Jintao at the G-8, but told the press he didn't 
have time to raise the issue.  The Chairman of the lower 
house Justice Committee said proposed amendments to make IPR 
infringement a serious crime subject to ex-officio police 
action were important, but he would not proffer an assessment 
of its chance of passage in September. The movie and textile 
industries report they have been working well on anti-piracy 
initiatives with State of Mexico officials. GOM officials and 
music and movie reps requested USG help in stopping the entry 
of contraband blank discs into Mexico. The Attorney General's 
Office (PGR) is ready to launch its IPR website, and says it 
will focus on arrests and jail time more than confiscations 
this year.  The American Chamber of Commerce launched its IPR 
Committee.  The Embassy is working with Mexican Customs to 
arrange an IPR training course in Veracruz later in the 
summer.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) President Calderon publicly unveiled May 31 the 
National Development Plan that is supposed to guide his 
administration's work over the course of its six-year term. 
The Plan is divided into five main themes, the first of which 
is ensuring the rule of law and security. One of the 
strategies under this heading is "protection of intellectual 
property." The Plan describes the negative impact of piracy 
on innovation and entrepreneurs and declares that national 
laws and international obligations will be enforced in 
Mexico, in particular by seizing merchandise and taking 
preventive actions at the border to prevent the entry of 
infringing goods. 
 
¶3. (U) Calderon met with PRC President Hu Jintao June 7 on 
the margins of the G-8 meetings held in Germany.  After the 
meeting, Calderon told reporters that he had intended to 
raise Chinese infringement of Mexican intellectual property 
rights but did not have time to raise the issue, due to the 
intense focus at the G-8 meetings on climate change, global 
imbalances, and financial market stability. The day before 
the meeting, Jorge Amigo, the head of the Mexican Institute 
of Industrial Property (roughly equivalent to the U.S. Patent 
and trademark Office) had made headlines in Mexico by 
claiming that famous Mexican brands like Corona beer are 
routinely ripped off by Chinese counterfeiters. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' Justice 
Commission Cesar Camacho told econoffs at a meeting on June 8 
that he was well aware that the Senate had recently passed 
amendments to federal copyright and industrial laws, as well 
as the criminal code (ref B), that would make IPR 
infringement a serious crime subject to ex-officio law 
enforcement, as opposed to the current system under which 
police authorities must first receive a formal complaint from 
rightsholders before launching an investigation into an 
alleged case of copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting. 
 Camacho said many deputies had not yet had time to review 
the bill, let alone consider possible amendments.  He agreed 
that it was an important issue, but would not guarantee that 
it would be voted on in September nor would he be drawn out 
on its chance of being passed unmodified by the Chamber of 
Deputies.  Camacho was unaware of a bill proposed (but not 
acted on) in the previous Congress on implementing WIPO 
Internet treaty obligations, but invited econoffs to be in 
touch with his staff regarding both that issue and the 
ex-officio amendments. 
 
¶5. (U) At a bi-national meeting of the U.S. and Mexican film 
industries (ref C) and the monthly public-private meeting of 
the Inter-institutional Committee for the Protection of IPR 
chaired by the Office of the Attorney General (PGR), 
 
MEXICO 00003297  002 OF 002 
 
 
representatives of the Motion Picture Association and Mexican 
textile and apparel makers commented positively on the first 
cooperative steps taken under the agreement that the State of 
Mexico had entered into with a private sector coalition to 
combat piracy and counterfeiting in Mexico's most populous 
state.  Though state law enforcement officials do not have 
authority to pursue IPR cases (which are covered by federal 
laws), they can make use of consumer protection rules and the 
power to deny business licenses to close down vendors of 
illicit goods.  Apparently this is what State of Mexico 
authorities have done in one particularly notorious market in 
the state capital of Toluca.  Industry has subsequently been 
working with the government to re-populate the market with 
vendors of cheap but legal products.  The private sector has 
signed an agreement with the municipality of Toluca and is 
close to signing an agreement with the state of Morelos (just 
south of Mexico City).  Post plans to report on progress in 
the State of Mexico and Municipality of Toluca in more detail 
in a future telegram in the hopes that other states and 
municipalities follow their lead. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Felipe Munoz, PGR Deputy Attorney General for 
Federal Crimes, invited econoffs to a meeting attended by 
IMPI, Mexican Customs, and the film and music industries 
regarding the illegal entry into Mexico of blank optical disc 
media that is then used to burn pirated copies of movies, 
music, and software.  DVD-Rs made in Taiwan allegedly enter 
Long Beach in-bond for transit to Mexico and then are shipped 
to Tijuana and Laredo.  Before crossing the border, they are 
fraudulently re-labeled as "made in the USA" and thus avoid 
paying Mexican tariffs.  GOM officials requested USG 
assistance in cracking down on this illegal practice north of 
the border.  Industry reps averred that by evading the 
payment of the appropriate Mexican tariffs, the pirate 
end-users of these discs reap a significant economic 
advantage over legitimate vendors. 
 
¶7. (SBU) At a subsequent meeting with Munoz, he previewed the 
IPR website that PGR is poised to launch.  The site contains 
enforcement statistics, explanations of relevant laws, how to 
initiate legal actions, a mailbox for suggestions and leads, 
and links to a number of other relevant sites, including 
IPR-related USG websites.  At this meeting, Munoz assured 
econoffs that PGR would focus more on arrests, convictions 
and jail time than seizures. 
 
¶8. (U) The American Chamber of Commerce launched its IPR 
Committee on June 4.  A mix of U.S. manufacturing, 
pharmaceutical, software, film, and sports goods companies 
participated in the first meeting, as did the President of 
the AmCham, who promised full support for the Committee's 
activities, and the head of IMPI's IPR protection division, 
Gilda Gonzalez.  The Committee agreed to form separate 
working groups on: measuring the level of infringement in 
Mexico; training Mexican officials; and public awareness. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Econoffs are working with DOJ, CBP, and ICE to 
organize a training for Mexican customs officials at the 
major eastern seaport of Veracruz later this summer.  In 
addition to customs personnel, PGR and IMPI officials as well 
as private sector reps would also participate.  The proposed 
date for this training is the week of July 23-27. 
 
 
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