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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221538Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9977
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000033 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE AND EB/IPE JBOGER 
STATE PASS USTR FOR JCHOE-GROVES AND WMOORE 
COMMERCE FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/MROGERS 
COMMERCE PASS USPTO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ETRD ECON PGOV EZ
SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC: SPECIAL 301 OUT-OF-CYCLE REVIEW 
DEMARCHE DELIVERED 
 
REF: STATE 1988 
 
¶1. (SBU) The Ambassador contacted Deputy Prime Minister 
Vondra by phone January 22 to inform the USG decision to 
place the Czech Republic on the Special 301 Watch List. 
Vondra was aware of the issue and did not seem surprised by 
the news, although it was clear he was not seized with the 
issue, which all government ministers regard as Minister of 
Industry and Trade Martin Riman's problem to fix.  We got the 
same impression from the MFA Political Director (Under 
Secretary-equivalent) Martin Povejsil when we informed him in 
 
SIPDIS 
person January 21. 
 
¶2. (SBU) MIT Director General of the EU Department Ladislava 
Votavova, who heads the Czech inter-ministerial committee on 
IPR issues, received the news January 22 and said that 
elevation to the Watch List is an appropriate response and 
one step in the process toward a "better result."  She hopes 
the OCR decision will motivate her government to give more 
attention to IPR issues, and urged the Embassy to continue to 
engage Deputy Minister Martin Tlapa and Minister Martin 
Riman.  Votavova informed that she would be leaving her 
position at the end of January; Her successor has not yet 
been named. 
 
3 . (SBU) COMMENT: Nobody was surprised about the Watch List 
designation, and our working-level contacts are hopeful that 
the designation will help capture higher-level attention to 
the problem.  Votavova told us privately that she was 
criticized for inviting the Embassy and industry to attend 
the committee meetings.  Therefore, the future relationship 
between the Embassy and the inter-ministerial IPR committee 
will depend largely on Votavova's unnamed successor. 
Votavova has been our greatest ally within the Czech 
government on the IPR issue and her departure is a definite 
loss.  However, the real challenge in moving the IPR issue 
forward is to get the Czech government's attention at the 
political level.  Post will use the Watch List designation, 
the April Special 301 review, and the Czech EU Presidency in 
2009 to press MIT leadership to move beyond their current 
coordination role and take ownership of the fight against 
piracy at the border markets.  We will also continue to 
engage other ministries to holding the MIT leadership 
accountable for concrete action.  END COMMENT. 
Graber