VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCV #0232/01 0532127
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 222127Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0650
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 7695
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB LIMA 0959
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 2774
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE

UNCLAS CARACAS 000232 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/IPE JBOGER 
DEPT PLS PASS TO USTR JCHOE-GROVES 
DOC PLS PASS TO USPTO CPETERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR VE
SUBJECT: 2008 SPECIAL 301 RECOMMENDATION: KEEP VENEZUELA 
ON PRIORITY WATCH LIST 
 
REF: A. STATE 9475 
     ¶B. 07 CARACAS 366 
     ¶C. 06 CARACAS 486 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The BRV's protection and enforcement of IPR 
continues to deteriorate.  The market for legitimate music CDs is 
eclipsed by piracy, with piracy rates for CDs, DVDs, and business 
software hovering above 80 percent.  SAPI, the agency that oversees 
IPR enforcement and issues patents, has not issued a single patent 
since 2004.  Based on the BRV's antipathy to IPR, weak enforcement, 
and possible legal changes to further strip away IPR protections, 
Post recommends that Venezuela remain on the Special 301 Priority 
Watch List for 2008.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
The Pharmaceutical Industry 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The international pharmaceutical industry continues to see 
a weakening of IPR protection in Venezuela.  Despite Venezuela 
having the highest per-capita pharmaceutical consumption in Latin 
America, and being the third largest market in the region, SAPI, the 
Autonomous Intellectual Property Service (the country's primary IPR 
authority) has not issued a patent to an imported pharmaceutical 
product since 2003, and has not issued a patent in any sector since 
¶2004.  According to a local IPR contact, SAPI received 2,958 patent 
applications in 2007 (over 50 percent of these were from the 
pharmaceutical industry), of which zero were approved.  (Note: SAPI 
approved 26 designs.  End Note.)  Since 2002, the BRV has failed to 
protect pharmaceutical testing and other confidential data for 
product submissions that have not yet received patent protection. 
The BRV also does not provide a linkage between patent and sanitary 
registrations.  As a result, counterfeiters can receive sanitary 
registration approval in the absence of a patent -- equivalent to 
marketing approval for a counterfeit product.  Eduardo Saman, the 
Director of SAPI and the newly appointed Director of the National 
Institute for the Defense of the Consumer (INDECU), has argued that 
trademarks and patents impeding the fabrication of generic medicines 
or the reproduction of technology should be considered monopolies. 
Monopolies are prohibited under the Venezuelan constitution. 
 
--------------------------- 
Recorded Media and Software 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The market for legitimate CDs and DVDs continues to 
decline.  According to a Post IPR contact, in 2007 there were 
approximately 1.9 million music CDs sold in Venezuela and 90 million 
"virgin" discs imported, ten million more disks than in 2006.  This 
would indicate that Venezuela is not solely a distribution source, 
but may be a production center for counterfeit products.  Industry 
experts estimated the piracy rate for music CDs at 88 percent in 
¶2007.  The number of street vendors selling pirated DVDs and CDs on 
the highway during rush hour has also visibly increased over the 
last year.  One local report estimated losses due to pirated CDs at 
USD 50.6 million.  The 
 
¶4. (U) National Film Law, passed in August 2005, requires 
distributors to copy in Venezuela a percentage of the movies they 
plan on distributing locally and to register all films.  Industry 
sources fear that this could lead to unauthorized releases of 
confidential information and contribute to piracy.  They estimate 
 
SIPDIS 
that 92 percent of movies purchased in Venezuela were produced 
illegally, and estimate losses of approximately USD 41.3 million. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The piracy rate for business software in 2007 was 86 
percent, according to the Business Software Alliance.  U.S. software 
companies have repeatedly come under attack from the BRV as 
exemplars of what President Chavez referred to as the "neo-liberal" 
trap of IPR.  In 2004, the BRV passed legislation that mandated the 
use of open source software throughout the public sector.  While not 
a violation of IPR in and of itself, the software industry has 
concerns about a lack of transparency in its implementation and 
favoritism shown to certain vendors. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Tenuous Legal Protection of IPR in Venezuela 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The legal framework in Venezuela for Intellectual Property 
Rights has become more ambiguous since the BRV withdrew from the CAN 
(Andean Community) in April 2006.  Venezuelan law had incorporated 
over 650 legal decisions from the Andean Community into domestic 
 
law, including Decision 486, a pronouncement on protection of 
intellectual property rights.  The most recent domestic intellectual 
property legislation in Venezuela dates from 1955 and does not 
provide for patent protection.  Venezuelan courts have, de facto, 
continued to apply Decision 486, though they have offered no 
assurances that they will continue to do so. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Numerous Post contacts have said that a new copyright law 
is expected to be decreed via the "enabling law."  In January 2007, 
the National Assembly delegated to President Chavez, for a period of 
18 months, the power to issue decrees carrying the force of law. 
Both the pharmaceutical and recording industries expressed their 
concern to us over potential abuse of this power to push through 
legislation that would further weaken the IPR regime.  In 
particular, there is concern that Chavez may sign into law a 
controversial copyright bill dating from 2004.  The bill would 
violate many of Venezuela's bilateral and multilateral IPR treaty 
obligations including the Bern Convention and TRIPs.  It would 
reduce the protection period for copyrights from 60 to 50 years and 
would allow the BRV to appropriate artistic rights for the public 
sector.  In 2007 the second-Vice President of National Assembly 
presented a different but similar version of this bill to the Andean 
Parliament.  Venezuela has also not deposited the instruments of 
ratification for the WIPO Copyright Treaty or the WIPO Performances 
and Phonograms Treaty, and we are told has not sent an official 
delegation to WIPO committee meetings since 2004. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Government of Venezuela's Open Hostility to IPR 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶8. (SBU) In 2007, the BRV attempted to remove significant IPR 
protections from the Venezuelan constitution as part of President 
Chavez failed December 2 constitutional reform package.  Eduardo 
Saman, the director of SAPI and INDECU, drafted the proposed changes 
to article 98 that would have notably deleted any mention of abiding 
by established IPR law and international treaties and also would 
have removed the term intellectual property rights from the 
constitution, referring only to copyrights.  This measure was 
co-sponsored by cooperatives representing distributors of pirated CD 
and DVDs.  Despite the rejection of President Chavez' reform 
package, Saman has continued to issue anti-IPR statements and has 
said that he was trying to decriminalize the pirating of all works. 
 
 
------------------ 
Other IPR BARRIERS 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) The BRV's foreign currency controls have been another 
barrier to IPR in Venezuela.  The Currency Exchange Administration 
(CADIVI) has been blocking access to foreign exchange for companies 
attempting to pay royalties, patent license fees, and franchise 
fees.  As indicated in a June 2007 CADIVI resolution, 100 foreign 
currency requests to pay licensing fees from 2005 were allowed to 
expire due to improper paperwork, something IPR contacts deny. 
While CADIVI does not deny these currency requests, not acting on 
them prevents businesses from complying with IPR laws. 
 
--------------- 
IPR Enforcement 
--------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) IPR enforcement in Venezuela continues to be weak. 
Enforcement problems derive for the most part from a lack of 
political will, lengthy legal processes, unprepared judges, and a 
lack of resources for investigation and prosecution.  A single 
special prosecutor who has one assistant is responsible for IPR 
issues in Venezuela.  Consequently, investigations are severely 
backlogged.  Under current Venezuelan law, IPR enforcement actions 
can only take place as a result of a complaint by the rights holder. 
 In addition, the complainant is responsible for the cost of storage 
of allegedly illicit goods during the investigation and trial. 
Trials can go on for years and storage costs are very high, making 
it unfeasible that someone will complete the legal process.  A 
loophole in the law only permits actions against copyright violators 
operating at a fixed location, effectively barring prosecution of 
street vendors. 
 
¶11. (SBU) SENIAT, the customs and tax enforcement agency, has been 
the one bright spot for IPR enforcement with noteworthy efforts to 
fight piracy in conjunction with its "zero tax evasion" and "zero 
contraband" missions.  In February 2007, SENIAT reportedly destroyed 
 
450,000 pirated CDs and 280,000 pirated DVDs.  Vielma Mora, the 
former superintendent of SENIAT, claimed to have invested USD 
32.5-37.2 million to fight piracy in 2007.  To avoid possible 
political fallout, SENIAT has sent employees outside Venezuela to 
receive IPR enforcement training.  However, on February 1, Vielma 
Mora, the BRV's lone IPR advocate, was fired.  Two weeks after this 
announcement, Post's contact at SENIAT declined to speak with us on 
SENIAT's IPR enforcement plans, saying she had to wait for new 
guidelines before sharing any information.  The Venezuelan copyright 
and trademark enforcement branch of the police (COMANPI) also 
attempts to provide copyright enforcement support with a small staff 
of permanent investigators.  Local IPR contacts have said that 
COMANPI, an agency known for its lack of personnel, limited budget, 
and inadequate storage facilities for seized goods, no longer has a 
functioning headquarters. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Venezuela continues to have an unfriendly environment for 
protecting intellectual property rights.  Pirated and counterfeit 
products abound, and piracy rates are climbing.  Overall enforcement 
remains weak and high ranking officials publicly express their 
disdain for IPR protection.  The BRV has dedicated few resources to 
investigating and prosecuting IPR crimes.  The legal regime for IPR 
protection is in a state of uncertainty after Venezuela's withdrawal 
from the CAN, and IPR protection will likely deteriorate in the 
upcoming year if Chavez pushes through controversial copyright 
legislation that would further undermine IPR protection and violate 
Venezuela's treaty obligations.  Post recommends keeping Venezuela 
on the Special 301 Priority Watch List for 2008. 
 
Duddy