VZCZCXRO0392
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHRB #0213 0701424
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101424Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8242
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 3946
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0398
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 4710
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0602
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2311
RUEHMK/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 1031
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 9548

UNCLAS RABAT 000213 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG AND EEB/TPP/IPE 
COMMERCE FOR USPTO CINDY HENDERSON AND KARIN FERRITER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KIPR MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO SAYS YES TO REGIONAL IP CONFERENCE 
 
REF: 02/28/08 - HENDERSON-KAAILAU E-MAIL 
 
¶1.  (U) The Director of the Moroccan Copyright Office, Abdallah 
Ouadghiri, enthusiastically agreed to host and coordinate a 
three-day regional intellectual property rights (IPR) conference in 
Rabat, Morocco, June 10-12, 2008.  Ouadghiri proposes a conference 
of 60-80 total participants that would focus on copyright 
enforcement, with national presentations and group workshops 
supplementing USPTO training material. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On March 6, Econoff met with Ouadghiri to discuss the 
proposed IPR conference outlined in reference e-mail.  Ouadghiri 
embraced the idea and pledged to coordinate Moroccan participation 
among the various Moroccan stakeholders:  Ministry of Communication, 
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, the Moroccan Office for 
Industrial and Commercial Property (L'Office Marocain de la 
Propriete Industrielle et Commerciale, OMPIC), and the Moroccan 
Copyright Office (Bureau Marocain du Droit D'Auteur, BMDA).  In 
addition, Ouadghiri suggested opening the conference to his 
counterparts from Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. 
 In discussing international participation, Ouadghiri quipped that 
he was positive he was not the only IPR director in the Middle East 
struggling to implement and enforce IP responsibilities, "How are 
Jordan and Bahrain doing it?" 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Ouadghiri asked that the conference focus on copyright 
issues to meet the needs of his organization (BMDA).  Although he 
pledged to coordinate OMPIC (trademark) participation in the 
conference, Ouadghiri made an impassioned plea for copyright 
specific training for his staff.  He pointed out that his Bureau has 
no English speakers, which has prevented him from sending anyone to 
USPTO sponsored training at the Global Intellectual Property Academy 
(GIPA).  He remarked that OMPIC, on the other hand, has been able to 
take advantage of several trademark related courses. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ouadghiri proposed June 10-12, 2008 as the most convenient 
dates for the conference and suggested it be held at the Tour Hassan 
Hotel in Rabat.  He said he was confident he could obtain access to 
the main conference room for no cost in exchange for conference 
participants staying there, and that simultaneous translation 
English-Arabic was the most preferred.  Note: The Tour Hassan is one 
of Rabat's best known hotels, has a long history of cooperation with 
Post, and charges within U.S. government per diem.  Based on current 
exchange rates, we can expect simultaneous translation to cost 
approximately USD 1450 per day.  End Note. 
 
¶5.  (U) Ouadghiri proposes a conference with three main activities: 
USPTO presentations of copyright related course material, national 
IP presentations by the participating nations, and workshops to 
discuss enforcement issues of common (regional) relevance.  He 
pledged to obtain approximately 60 participants from the various 
Moroccan stakeholders, the majority coming from BMDA.  Including 2 
participants from the other six countries, the conference would 
total 70-75 participants. 
 
RILEY 
 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED