VZCZCXYZ0024
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #0344/01 0581452
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271452Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9058
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RULSDMK/NSA US WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE

UNCLAS SANAA 000344 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR JENNIFER GROVES 
EEB/IPE FOR JENNIFER BOGER 
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NEA/ARP FOR NATASHA FRANCESCHI AND ASHLEY BAGWELL 
NEA/PI FOR SONIA FRANCESKI 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR YM
SUBJECT: YEMEN VOLUNTARY INPUT FOR 2008 SPECIAL 301 REVIEW 
 
REF: STATE 09475 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  In response to reftel, Post input for the U.S. Trade 
Representative's 2008 Special 301 review follows. 
 
¶2.  Yemen continues to face many obstacles to intellectual 
property rights (IPR), including a non-TRIPs-compliant IPR 
law, which it is seeking to amend.  Copyright protection of 
optical media is provided by the Ministry of Culture, which 
registers CD/DVDs and refers infringement cases to the 
judiciary, but piracy is still widespread.  No effective IPR 
protection of computer software and the internet exists. 
Pharmaceutical and agricultural products can be registered, 
but IPR enforcement is extremely limited.  IPR enforcement 
within the ROYG is hampered by lack of equipment and training 
of staff.  Post recommends continued USG technical assistance 
and training in the field of IPR.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BACKGROUND ON YEMEN'S IPR ENVIRONMENT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Yemen joined the Paris Convention for the Protection of 
Industrial Property in November 2006 and acceded to the Berne 
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 
in 2007. The ROYG recently applied to join the Gulf 
Cooperation Council's Patent Organization.  Yemen has had 
observer status in the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 
2002 and is in the process of applying for WTO accession. 
 
¶4. Despite all of its efforts,  Yemen has a record of 
inadequate protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), 
including patents, trademarks, designs and copyrights.  Its 
IPR Law Number 19 of 1994 is not TRIPS-compliant (Note: 
Yemen currently has only one law which addresses all areas of 
IPR, Law Number 19.  End note).  In order to strengthen IPR 
protection and enforcement, in 2007, the ROYG Ministry of 
Industry and Trade drafted new patents, trademark, design, 
and consumer protection laws with assistance from the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (Note:  Yemen has 
been a member of WIPO since 1979.  End note).  The ROYG 
Ministry of Culture has drafted a new copyrights law. 
Pending final adjustments, the laws will be sent to 
Parliament for approval.  As of February 2008, Yemen's 
Parliament has not yet passed the new IPR laws.  The ROYG has 
committed itself to passing these laws by December 31, 2008, 
as part of the steps required for Yemen's accession to the 
WTO. 
 
LIMITED COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ON OPTICAL MEDIA 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  The ROYG Ministry of Culture handles issues related to 
copyrights of optical media (i.e. music CDs, video CDs, 
CD-ROMS, and DVDs), computer software, books and magazines. 
In a February 24 meeting with Econoff, the Ministry of 
Culture's Director of Intellectual Property Rights Protection 
Abdullah Mohammed Baddah stated that manufacturers of CDs and 
DVDs can register their products at the Ministry of Culture, 
which then issues an identification number and an official 
letter to all CD/DVD manufacturers in Yemen alerting them of 
the new product.  Baddah said that the Ministry of Culture 
has twelve inspectors in Sanaa alone who investigate cases of 
CD/DVD copyright violations.  If an inspector determines that 
a violation has occurred, he or she then types up an official 
letter, investigates the case, and refers it to the Office of 
the Prosecutor and/or Ministry of Justice.  If a person is 
convicted of a copyright violation, penalties include a 
6-month prison sentence and a 10,000 Yemeni riyal fine. 
According to Baddah, there were a total of 10 cases of 
copyright/trademark infringement in 2007, nine of which 
involved CDs and one which involved a TV program.  Three 
cases resulted in convictions in 2007. 
 
¶6.  Nevertheless, piracy of optical media is still widespread 
in Yemen.  Yemen Consumer Protection Association Assistant 
Secretary General Yaseen Al-Tamimy told Econoff on February 
 
SIPDIS 
10 that the ROYG cannot control optical media piracy because 
any shop with a CD/DVD burner can produce counterfeit copies 
of the CD/DVD at will and Yemeni consumers are not able to 
tell the difference between genuine and counterfeit products. 
 He also noted the lack of public awareness about copyright 
 
protection or other fields of IPR, primarly due to the high 
illiteracy rate and low income of the people.  Baddah 
admitted that the current law is weak and that the Ministry 
of Culture, with technical assistance from the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), has developed a 
much stronger draft copyright Law, which the Cabinet recently 
approved and will present to Parliament on March 1, 2008. 
 
NO IPR PROTECTION ON COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND THE INTERNET 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶7.  With respect to computer software, Baddah mentioned that 
Yemen's current IPR law does not cover these products. 
Manufacturers, however, can register their products with the 
Ministry of Culture, which issues a certificate.  The 
Ministry of Culture has only one inspector who covers 
computer software issues.  According to Baddah, the Ministry 
of Culture received no complaints of computer software piracy 
in 2007.  Al-Tamimy noted that the only IPR protection for 
computer software inside Yemen is built-in protections from 
the computer companies  (e.g. a person with a counterfeit 
computer software program would not be able to download an 
update of the same program from the internet).  There is also 
no protection against internet piracy.  Although the Ministry 
of Telecommunications handles internet use in Yemen, 
according to al-Baddah, IPR internet protection is weak. 
Al-Tamimy observed that internet piracy is not a big problem 
because only 3 percent of the Yemeni population has access to 
computers.  He opined that the ROYG is more concerned about 
expanding computer access, rather than controlling the use of 
computers. 
 
LIMITED DATA PROTECTION FOR PHARMACEUTICAL AND AGRICULTURAL 
PRODUCTS 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶8.  Pharmaceutical products in Yemen are covered under IPR 
Law No. 19 of 1994, which organizes the import and trade of 
pharmaceutical products, according to the Ministry of 
Industry and Trade.  Within the ROYG Ministry of Public 
Health and Population is a Supreme Committee of Drugs and 
Medical Appliances, which oversees data protection of 
pharmaceutical products and is in charge of registering 
pharmaceutical companies and drugs.  The Supreme Committee 
has 250 employees and has agents at every airport and seaport 
in Yemen.  In a February 27 meeting with Econoff, the Supreme 
Committee's Director General, Abdul Moneim Al-Hakami, 
explained that if a foreign drug company would like to export 
its products to Yemen, the company approaches the Supreme 
Committee, which first runs lab tests on the products, then 
registers the company and product and issues a certificate. 
The company then brings the certificate to the MOIT, which 
issues a trademark.  A second way that a company can register 
its pharmaceutical products in Yemen is through the Gulf 
Cooperation Council's Health Ministers Council Office in 
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Through this second method, companies' 
products would be registered in all six GCC countries, plus 
Yemen.  After the pharmaceutical product is registered, the 
the Supreme Committee conducts random inspections of it in 
the marketplace. 
 
¶9.  If the Supreme Committee discovers counterfeit 
pharmaceutical goods in the marketplace, it has the power to 
confiscate the goods and even to close down the companies. 
It then refers cases to the Office of Public Prosecution. 
Al-Hakami complained that the current IPR law is weak and 
that there are no serious consequences for producing 
counterfeit drugs.  As a result, the ROYG is working on a 
much stronger law specifically focusing on drugs in Yemen, 
which it expects to present to Parliament in 2008.  Based 
upon this new law, the Supreme Commitee will devise a 
national strategy on pharmaceutical products. 
 
¶10.  The process of data protection/registration for 
agricultural products follows the same procedure as 
pharmaceutical products, but takes place within the Ministry 
of Agriculture, which issues a certificate.  The owner of the 
agricultural product then takes the certificate to the MOIT, 
which issues the trademark. 
 
WEAK IPR ENFORCEMENT IN YEMEN 
----------------------------- 
 
¶11.  The weak role of the ROYG in the field of IPR 
 
enforcement efforts is also demonstrated by the Ministry of 
Industry and Trade (MOIT) and the Customs Authority (CA). 
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has a staff of 32 people 
who focus on three areas of IPR:  trademarks, patents and 
industrial designs.  The newly-appointed General Director of 
the Intellectual Property Department at the Ministry of 
Industry and Trade, Abdul-Fattah Hayal Farhan, in a February 
20 meeting with Econoff, described the Ministry's role as 
that of an "observer" which records complaints about 
counterfeit goods but has no enforcement powers.  (Note:  The 
MOIT recorded 56 cases of counterfeit goods in 2005, 45 cases 
in 2006 and 38 cases in 2007.  End note.)  Even though the 
MOIT can refer these cases to the judiciary, Farhan 
complained that many judges are not knowledgable in the area 
of IPR.  He also cited four weaknesses within the MOIT in the 
field of IPR: the lack of adequate statistics, equipment, 
trained staff and linkages between the central MOIT office 
and MOIT governorate branch offices.  He added that public 
awareness of IPR issues will need to be raised. 
 
¶12.  The Customs Authority (CA)'s role in IPR enforcement 
takes place at the 25 Customs entry points located along 
Yemen's long and porous border.  In a February 18 meeting 
with Econoff, CA Legal Affairs Director Abdullah Rajeh stated 
that like the MOIT, the CA does not have the right to arrest 
counterfeiters.  The CA does have the right to confiscate and 
seize items and can refer counterfeit goods cases to the 
judiciary.  He explained that most counterfeit goods in Yemen 
come from smuggling, especially in electronics, basic 
commodities and cigarettes.  Rajeh urged more USG assistance 
in terms of providing the CA with equipment to help detect 
counterfeit products and also training for CA staff, lawyers 
and the judiciary. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13.  Yemen faces many challenges in the field of IPR but has 
strong incentives for improving its IPR environment, 
including accession to the World Trade Organization and 
attracting greater foreign direct investment.  For example, a 
March 2007 workshop on IPR sponsored by the Yemen Consumer 
Protection Association attracted over 200 participants from 
the public and private sector, including the Prime Minister. 
Post recommends that Yemen, particularly its judiciary, 
receive continued USG technical assistance and training in 
the field of IPR through such organizations as the U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Organization (USPTO).  English language 
training would also be beneficial.  Post agrees with the 
decision not to place Yemen on the 2007 Special 301 Watch 
List or Priority Watch List and recommends doing the same in 
¶2008.  End Comment. 
 
SECHE