VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRO #2419/01 3390804
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 050804Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9484
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS ROME 002419 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO EEB/TPP/IPE URBAN, BOGER, WALLACE, WATTS, 
LEBLANC 
PASS TO USTR SANFORD, GROVES, MCCOY, YANG, WILSON, PETERS 
PASS TO DEPT OF COMMERCE ISRAEL, PAUGH, R MCLAUGHLIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD PGOV IT
SUBJECT: ITALY AND 301:  SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS, BUT NO ACTION 
PLAN YET 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 158938 
 
     ¶B. ROME 1697 
     ¶C. ROME 1217 
     ¶D. ROME 290 
 
(SBU) 1.  SUMMARY:  In response to USG's 2007 Special 301 
Initiative, Government of Italy (GOI) officials have taken 
some positive steps to address Intellectual Property Rights 
(IPR) protection in Italy.  Positive signs include 
senior-level GOI public statements on the importance of IPR 
protection, concrete efforts to energize the Italian 
judiciary, and a start at collecting quantifiable IPR 
enforcement data.  However, the GOI has not yet articulated a 
comprehensive IPR protection action plan.  Post will continue 
positive engagement with GOI and continue to push for a 
coherent action plan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------- 
ITALIAN ACTIONS 
--------------- 
 
HEIGHTENED ENGAGEMENT 
--------------------- 
 
(U) 2.  The GOI's most senior IPR officials have increased 
contact with Post and USG visitors to Italy to productively 
discuss IPR issues.  All have been involved in USG IPR 
initiatives this year, such as Post's 2007 Judicial Trainer 
IPR Sensitization conference (to be discussed SEPTEL).  Mauro 
Masi, Italy's IPR Delegate to International Institutions and 
de facto IPR czar, and Fabrizio Mazza, MFA's IPR Chief, plan 
to meet with USG IPR-related officials in Washington in 
December.  Giovanni Kessler, Italy's High Commissioner of the 
Office for the Fight Against Counterfeiting (ACHC), is 
scheduled to visit the U.S. on a Voluntary Visitor program in 
early 2008. 
 
(U) 3.  The GOI has shown interest in the Anti-Counterfeiting 
Trade Agreement (ACTA, refs B and D).  The Association of 
Mayors of major Italian cities (ANCI) has implemented an 
anti-counterfeiting public awareness program at a local 
level. On December 3-4, ACHC hosted an international 
conference on IPR protection (to be discussed SEPTEL). 
 
SENIOR GOI PUBLIC COMMENT ON IPR'S IMPORTANCE 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
(U) 4. Senior level GOI officials have publicly discussed 
IPR's importance to Italy.  On May 31, Minister for Economic 
Development Bersani hosted Ambassador Spogli at Bersani's 
ministry for a public discussion on IPR and Innovation (ref 
C).  On October 24th, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime 
Minister D'Alema hosted Ambassador Spogli and Justice 
Minister Mastella at MFA for a discussion on IPR protection 
in Italy (See Rome SIPRNet Daily Report, October 25, 2007). 
After Ministers D'Alema and Mastella and Ambassador Spogli 
spoke, senior representatives of all GOI agencies with IPR 
competency participated in a roundtable discussion on 
improving IPR protection in Italy.  The Ministry for Economic 
Development's Director General for Economic Development and 
Competition, Andrea Bianchi, hosted U.S. and Italian patent, 
IPR, and tech transfer experts at a conference at the 
Ministry November 19-20 (to be discussed SEPTEL). 
 
EFFORTS TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS ON IPR 
------------------------------------------- 
 
(U) 5.  The Bersani and D'Alema events were covered in the 
mainstream press, with the D'Alema event getting extensive 
coverage on radio and television in addition to online and 
print.  Masi indicates that the GOI is planning a series of 
public service announcements for all media (press, online, 
television, radio) throughout the Christmas holidays to 
enhance public awareness of the importance of IPR protection. 
 Kessler has received significant press exposure by 
articulating the importance of IPR protection and the ACHC's 
plans to address it. 
 
DATA COLLECTION 
--------------- 
 
(U) 6.  Masi has formally requested IPR data from all GOI 
agencies involved in IPR enforcement (law enforcement and 
judiciary branches in particular). 
 
JUDICIAL OUTREACH 
 
----------------- 
 
(U) 7.  The Italian Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura 
(CSM--the Magistracy's senior self-governing body), a 
notoriously independent body, granted Post permission to 
invite their judicial trainers to attend Post's judicial 
conference mentioned above.  As a result, the equivalent of 
the attorneys general for the Rome and Milan judicial regions 
have sent letters to their prosecutorial and judicial 
colleagues in their regions asking them to pay close 
attention to IPR cases that prosecutors and judges may 
receive. 
 
(U) 8.  The Italian Parliament is currently considering 
legislation consisting of a package of public 
security-related proposals (the Pachetto).  It would address 
IPR issues in part by raising administrative and criminal 
penalties against counterfeiters  (See Rome SIPRNet Daily 
Report, October 10, 2007). 
 
PRIVATE INDUSTRY OUTREACH 
------------------------- 
 
(U) 9.  ACHC has convened an advisory panel of IPR industry 
representatives.  The GOI has invited representatives of IPR 
industry associations to all of its public IPR events held 
this year. 
 
ONLINE PIRACY EFFORTS 
--------------------- 
 
(U) 10.  The Italian Communications Police, the law 
enforcement agency with online enforcement capacity in Italy, 
participated in the D'Alema roundtable and outlined its plans 
to address online piracy.  Recently, a Milan court issued an 
unprecedented 12 million Euro fine in an illegal internet 
downloading case (see Rome SIPRNet Daily Report, November 21, 
2007). 
 
---------------------- 
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? 
---------------------- 
 
STILL NO ACTION PLAN 
-------------------- 
 
(SBU) 11.  The GOI still has not shown us a coherent, 
comprehensive IPR protection action plan that coordinates and 
puts into context their IPR protection activities, and that 
identifies a vision for the GOI's IPR protection goals.  The 
absence of this plan suggests that the GOI's commitment to 
IPR may not be well thought-out or long-term in nature. 
Further, initiatives like the Pachetto, the ANCI public 
awareness program, and ACHC's December 3-4 conference largely 
focus on counterfeiting, and do not place much emphasis on 
addressing copyright piracy. 
 
ADDRESS ONLINE AND LEGISLATIVE CONCERNS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
(SBU) 12.  Local IPR industry representatives report no 
discernible change in the IPR protection environment here, 
but they do admit to a growing fear of possible GOI 
legislation and/or rulings that may weaken IPR in Italy. 
Industry is concerned that new Italian data privacy laws may 
restrict Internet Service Providers' (ISPs) ability to 
disclose the identities of potential online pirates due to 
individual privacy considerations.  While not strictly a 
piracy or counterfeiting problem, pharmaceutical industry 
representatives worry that the GOI pharmaceutical authority 
may approve generic drugs before patents on brand name 
medicines expire.  The GOI has not articulated notice and 
takedown procedures for online pirate websites. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
(SBU) 13.  Post will continue to push the GOI to prepare the 
needed comprehensive IPR action plan, and for more robust 
enforcement of Italian IPR law.  END COMMENT. 
SPOGLI