VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTL #0367/01 1560741
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 050741Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9884

UNCLAS TALLINN 000367 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EB/TPP/IPE CARRIE LACROSSE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAIR EU KTIA PREL EN
SUBJECT: TALLINN'S PROPOSAL FOR 2007 IPR ENFORCEMENT 
TRAINING FUNDS 
 
REF: STATE 55928 
 
¶1.  In response to reftel, the following is Embassy 
Tallinn's proposal for funding to develop, distribute 
and promote an extensive awareness campaign in Estonia 
to combat internet piracy and promote cyber security. 
 
Background 
----------- 
 
¶2. The biggest IPR challenge in countries with a well- 
developed IT sector is internet piracy. In Estonia, the 
Internet is the primary tool for private banking, 
national governance and communication by young people. 
 There are an estimated 700,000 internet users out of a 
total population of 1.3 million, and the number is 
rapidly increasing.  Estonia is quickly gaining an 
international reputation as the EU country at the 
forefront of "e-government", "e-voting", "e-governance" 
and overall market penetration of online services. 
However, public awareness of the technical risk factors 
and legal constraints on using the internet has not 
kept up with the rapid growth in usage, especially 
among the student and youth population.  In this 
environment of lower cost and higher-bandwidth access 
to the internet, (large parts of downtown Tallinn offer 
free, high-speed, Wi-Fi access) the greatest challenge 
to protecting intellectual property rights is combating 
digital piracy.  The Baltic countries have only one NGO 
dedicated to anti-piracy, the Estonian Organization for 
Copyright Protection (EOCP) which represents major U.S. 
industry rights holders.  EOCP Managing Director Erik 
Mandre has noted that since internet piracy is a new 
and constantly evolving form of IPR violation, it is 
essential to inform internet users about not only 
threats, but also responsibilities in the digital 
environment. 
 
¶3. The issue of cyber crime has taken on greater 
urgency in Estonia recently.  Following a dispute with 
Russia over the re-location of a Soviet-era war 
memorial, Estonia became the target of an unprecedented 
"cyber-war" directed at government ministries, banks 
and newspapers in the form of massive Denial-of-Service 
attacks.  These attacks were primarily coordinated by 
remotely controlling the computers of many unwitting 
internet users (inside and outside of Estonia) via the 
use of malicious software placed on their machines by 
the perpetrators.  There is a potential linkage between 
these cyber attacks, law enforcement, and IPR 
infringement.  Cyber criminals engaged in digital 
piracy of music, movies, software and other digital 
media are frequently involved in other types of cyber 
crime such as credit card fraud and digital blackmail. 
 These criminals use real or threatened Denial-of- 
Service attacks against companies doing legitimate 
business through the Web.  At the same time, internet 
users visiting websites to download illegal copies of 
IPR-infringing material are at greater risk of their 
computers getting infected with malicious software, 
which could in turn be used in the type of massive 
Denial-of-Service attacks directed at Estonia last 
month.  The cyber attacks in Estonia have demonstrated 
the vulnerability of high-tech societies to threats 
from the digital environment.  Therefore, post sees a 
critical need to raise public awareness on the linkage 
between intellectual property rights in the digital 
environment, and the larger issue of cyber security and 
cyber crime. 
 
Proposal 
-------- 
 
¶4.  Embassy Tallinn proposes to conduct an extensive 
Internet piracy awareness campaign targeted at state 
officials, Internet Service Providers, owners of 
popular websites, and active Internet users in Estonia. 
 
¶5.  The objective of the program will be to raise 
awareness of cyber security related to IPR violations 
in the digital environment, as well as to reduce 
uploading and downloading of digital content infringing 
the IP rights of owners.  The program will also raise 
public awareness about legal and illegal actions on the 
Internet, and the risks associated with engaging in 
digital piracy. 
 
¶6.  The awareness campaign will have an educational 
approach toward all target groups and will seek to 
mobilize the maximum number of partners representing 
the view of affected parties, including U.S. 
 
industries. Before the campaign, project coordinating 
agency EOCP, and consultants from Hill & Knowlton Eesti 
AS in Estonia, will perform a control study of the 
attitudes of different target groups toward digital 
piracy.  After the campaign, additional research will 
evaluate behavioral changes of internet users. 
 
¶7.  The project will focus on the threats and negative 
aspects of internet piracy, and on computer security. 
It will explain where service providers, content 
providers and internet users infringe IP rights in the 
digital environment. The campaign will include 
seminars, media relations and targeted advertising. 
The target group will be Estonian government and law 
enforcement officials, large and small internet 
providers, owners and managers of popular web sites and 
the most active internet users - students and other 
people aged 10-25. 
 
¶8.  The proposed budget for the awareness campaign is 
as follows: 
 
Seminars: $20,000 
Expert from the U.S. or EU for seminars: $5,000 
Internet channel, banners, advertising: $5000 
Other media: $20,000 
Situation mapping and evaluation: $5,000 
Expert fees, project coordination: $10,000 
 
Total amount requested: USD 65,000 
 
Fulfillment of criteria for funding: 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  Economic Impact on U.S. Interests: in Estonia, the 
Internet is the biggest outlet for pirated music and 
films. U.S. audio and video products are especially 
popular in Estonia.  However, awareness is low of what 
is legal and what is illegal in the digital 
environment.  The awareness campaign will aim to 
decrease internet piracy in Estonia, and promote the 
vital Mission Strategic Plan goal, and U.S. business 
interest of protecting intellectual property rights. 
 
¶10.  Crime and Security Considerations: cyber crime, 
including internet piracy, is a new and constantly 
evolving area.  The Internet does not recognize borders 
however, Estonia's relatively large pool of well 
educated IT specialists creates a high potential for 
internet-based criminal activity as well as the 
expertise to combat cyber crime.  (Note: the popular 
peer-to-peer programs Kazaa and Skype were both 
developed by Estonians, and Estonia's defenses against 
the May cyber attacks are being studied by both U.S. 
and European experts. End note) 
 
¶11.  Relevance to Other U.S. Objectives: Protection of 
IPR is one of Embassy Tallinn's Mission Strategic Plan 
priorities for FY 2007 and 2008. In order to promote 
economic prosperity, the Embassy is supporting efforts 
to enhance protection of IP rights. 
 
¶12.  Political Will: The Government of Estonia has 
demonstrated its support for improving its IPR regime. 
On several occasions, including addressing public via 
mass media, the Deputy Under-Secretary for Criminal 
Policy at the Ministry of Justice has made statements 
about importance of combating internet piracy. Also, 
the recent "cyber war" has raised the level of GOE 
interest in crimes in the digital environment.  The 
Deputy-Under Secretary for Internal Security at the 
Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that combating 
IPR violation is an integral part of the new internal 
security strategy the government is currently 
developing. At an Embassy-sponsored IPR conference in 
January 2007, Estonia's Police Commissioner drew 
attention to the linkage between organized crime groups 
and IPR infringement, pointing to the funds they can 
raise through illegal digital piracy. 
 
¶13.  Capacity to Achieve Measurable Progress: the 
primary cooperation partner and implementation 
coordinator for this project will be the EOCP, the only 
anti-piracy organization in the Baltics. Since its 
establishment in 1998, the EOCP has successfully 
represented the Motion Picture Association of America 
(MPAA) and collaborates with copyright organizations 
all over the world. EOCP will work closely with Hill & 
Knowlton Estonia which has significant experience 
working with clients in the consumer technology sector 
and organizations promoting IP rights. 
 
 
Components of an Effective IPR Regime in Estonia: 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶14.  Embassy Tallinn's proposal for IPR Enforcement 
Training Funds is made in the context of Estonia's 
effective IPR regime.  This regime includes: an 
appropriate legal framework, enforcement capacity, 
border Controls, government-industry cooperation, 
international cooperation, public awareness, and 
engagement by public officials in Estonia. 
 
Project Evaluation Metrics 
-------------------------- 
 
¶15.  Targeted to U.S. Priorities:  According to the 
2004-2009 Department of State Strategic Plan, part of 
its mission to protect the United States, American 
citizens, and U.S. interests, is to wage a vigorous 
campaign against organized crime, including cyber 
crime. Accordingly, "...the Department and USAID will 
strengthen foreign law enforcement capabilities and 
strengthen laws, law enforcement institutions, and 
judicial systems."  Encouraging greater compliance with 
existing IPR laws and raising awareness of the need for 
tougher cyber crime laws is a key part of this 
strategy.  Embassy Tallinn's 2008 Mission Strategic 
Plan also includes the goal to "promote increased IPR 
protection in Estonia to create investment and 
commercial opportunities for U.S. companies." 
 
¶16.  Support of host government: The Ministry of 
Culture, which has primary responsibility for 
awareness-raising in the IPR field, fully supports this 
initiative.  In addition, senior officials in both the 
Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs (with jurisdiction over police) have expressed 
their support for IPR enforcement. 
 
¶17.  Specific weaknesses of the intellectual property 
system targeted by proposal: as internet piracy is a 
relatively new form of crime, there is little 
information available to the public that explains what 
actions on the Internet are legal and illegal.  Raising 
awareness on cyber crimes including internet piracy is 
a comprehensive long-term commitment.  This project 
aims not only to inform Internet users of the legal 
aspects of digital piracy, but also to make them aware 
of the elevated cyber security risks associated with 
downloading illegal music, movies and software. 
 
¶18.  Benchmarks: the success of the project will be 
measured by the amount of digital content available on 
the targeted Estonian websites; the number of press 
publications on the message of the campaign; and the 
change in attitudes and behavior of the target groups 
based on opinion surveys conducted before and after the 
campaign. 
 
¶19.  Oversight and accountability measures:  Embassy 
Economic Officer and Economic Specialist will 
coordinate and consult with the program designers and 
implementers, EOCP and Hill & Knowlton, all 
programmatic and technical matters which may arise in 
the administration of the program. Embassy 
representatives will also evaluate performance to 
ensure compliance with the project terms and 
conditions, including regular review of progress and 
financial reports. 
 
PHILLIPS