VZCZCXRO8779
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHWR #2149/01 2980749
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 250749Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5393
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 1885
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 002149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR WMOORE 
USDOC FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR/JBURGESS, JKIMBALL, MROGERS 
TREASURY FOR MGAERTNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON KIPR EINV PL
SUBJECT: WARSAW STADIUM CLOSES (SORT OF) 
 
REF: WARSAW 1918 
 
WARSAW 00002149  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary: On October 1, government authorities closed 
the "crown" of the Warsaw Stadium, where most trade in 
pirated goods had taken place.  The periphery of the Stadium 
is still open to traders.  Counterfeit goods can still be 
found, although the quantity seems to be less, and the goods 
are less brazenly displayed.  The Polish government is still 
struggling to find a new location for the market. 
Ironically, its efforts may be frustrated by the 
recently-enacted anti-business "Big Box Store" law.  Closing 
the Stadium's crown represents incremental but real progress 
toward greater respect for intellectual property rights in 
Poland.  End summary. 
 
------------------------ 
Stadium's "Crown" Closes 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) On October 1, traders in the "Russian Market" at the 
Warsaw Stadium were expelled from the top or "crown" of the 
Stadium.  The crown was the center of trade in pirated and 
counterfeit goods, partly because the distance from the 
Stadium entry to the crown allowed sufficient time for 
lookouts to warn traders of police raids.  On October 5, 
EconOff observed that access to the crown is now blocked by 
barricades, which are guarded by police. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Trade in Pirated Goods Continues, But Less Obviously 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Traders continue to occupy stalls on the periphery 
of the Stadium.  On October 5, most of the permanent stalls 
seemed to be occupied by Poles or Vietnamese selling cheap 
but genuine goods.  Trade in counterfeit goods continues, but 
is far less apparent than in the past (reftel).  For example, 
several times Russians approached EconOff offering films and 
music, as well as cell phones (presumably stolen) and 
watches.  However, there were no DVDs openly displayed.  One 
trader offered EconOff cigarettes.  When asked what type he 
had, the trader opened his car trunk and -- while casually 
shoving cartons inside his coat -- revealed four large 
plastic sacks full of cartons of different brands. 
 
¶4.  (U)  Some of the African traders, who previously 
controlled much of the crown's trade in counterfeit athletic 
shoes and sportswear, have relocated to a spot behind the 
Stadium parking lot.  Only legitimate goods were on display, 
the sole exception noted being a single "Nike" shirt. 
However, when EconOff asked one trader standing in front of a 
pile of nondescript no-name coats whether anything was 
available "with a name on it," he was immediately surrounded 
by a dozen traders.  One pulled a "Puma" shoe out of his coat 
pocket, while another unzipped his jacket to reveal he was 
wearing at least three "Puma" sweatshirts, sales tags 
attached.  Others frantically began pulling counterfeit 
sportswear from hiding placing in duffel bags.  The traders' 
opening offer for Puma shoes was PLN 65 (about USD 24), while 
sweatshirts went for PLN 40 (about USD 15).  Prices were, of 
course, negotiable. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Counterfeit goods could be found, with some 
looking, but that fact needs to be kept in perspective.  The 
new locations are not well-known.  EconOff was only able to 
find the knock-off shoe and sweatshirt traders by following a 
trader packing a bulging duffel bag, and that trader was only 
spotted after over an hour spent looking.  The number of 
traders appeared greatly diminished, and the volume of goods 
available seemed to be a fraction of what it had been.  In 
contrast, the presence of police was much more noticeable. 
Closing the crown dealt a real and substantial blow to trade 
in pirated goods. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Big Box Store Law May Block Efforts To Relocate Traders 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Polish government is still trying to settle on 
a new location for the market.  All of post's IPR contacts -- 
the police, concerned ministries, and industry 
representatives -- have stressed the importance of the new 
market having specific points of entry and exit so that the 
police can prevent counterfeit goods being brought into the 
market space.  One of the most frequently-mentioned possible 
 
WARSAW 00002149  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
locations, in the eastern suburbs of Warsaw, is currently an 
empty field.  Time would be required to construct market 
stalls there (although the Ministry of Sport has stated that 
the traders should be able to remain on the periphery of the 
Stadium until design work on a new stadium is completed in 
mid-2008).  The other most frequently-mentioned possible 
location, in the northern suburbs of Warsaw, currently 
contains shabby old warehouses.  However, over 20,000 
residents there have signed a petition opposing having the 
market in their backyards.  The local mayor, as well as 
members of the local council (rada gmina), have stated they 
will not give their approval for siting the market there. 
Such approval would be needed under Poland's new "Big Box 
Store" law. 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  The brainchild of a Self-Defense (Samoobrona) 
representative who owns a chain of small convenience stores, 
the Big Box Store Law (formally, the Law on Creation of Large 
Retail Units) was enacted on May 21.  It requires a positive 
opinion from the local council (rada gmina) and a special 
permit from the local mayor to create retail units with a 
sales area greater than 400 square meters.  For retail units 
in excess of 2,000 square meters of retail space, a positive 
opinion from the regional council (sejmik wojewodztwa) is 
also required.  Requiring these permits increases 
opportunities for corruption.  Post worked extensively with 
business groups to limit the law's negative impact by 
exempting existing investments from the law.  Nevertheless, 
the law poses a cumbersome and potentially insurmountable 
barrier to market access for supermarkets, shopping mall 
developers and "big box" retailers.  Poland's Ombudsman has 
challenged the law in the Polish Constitutional Court, but 
the Court has not yet ruled on the matter. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Comment: Closing Crown Represents Real Progress 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶8.  (U)  The Russian market is not closed completely, and, 
with a little looking, counterfeit goods can still be found. 
However, the worst part of the market now stands behind 
barricades, empty.  Trade in counterfeit goods is much less 
apparent than just a few weeks ago, and the number of traders 
appears to be waning.  The government still faces some 
hurdles to closing the Stadium completely, but things are 
finally moving in the right direction. 
ASHE