VZCZCXRO8180
PP RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHKV #0821/01 1160749
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 250749Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KYIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5438
INFO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSF/AMEMBASSY SOFIA 0031

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KYIV 000821 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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C O R R E C T E D COPY - SUBJECT LINE CHANGED 
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STATE FOR EUR/UMB AND EB/TPP/IPE 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR BURKHEAD/GROVES 
USDOC FOR 4201/DOC/ITA/MAC/BISNIS 
USDOC FOR 4231/ITA/OEENIS/NISD/CLUCYCK 
SOFIA FOR MLAMBERTI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD KIPR ECON UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: IPR ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION GROUP 
DISCUSSES COPYRIGHT ISSUES 
 
REFS: A) KYIV 528 
 
      B) KYIV 503 
      C) 2007 KYIV 2865 and previous 
      D) 2007 KYIV 1888 
      E) 2007 KYIV 1205 
 
KYIV 00000821  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. Summary: GOU, Embassy and industry representatives 
discussed copyright issues and GOU inter-agency cooperation 
at an April 23 Enforcement Cooperation Group (ECG) meeting. 
The GOU officials present agreed to push for a Cabinet of 
Ministers Resolution to raise the stature of the 
government's IPR Coordination Council and to improve inter- 
agency cooperation.  Industry reps supported the initiative 
and asked to be included in future Coordination Council 
meetings.  Reps from the recording, film, and software 
industries raised problems of concern to them and proposed 
steps for the GOU to improve enforcement.  Deputy Econ 
Counselor highlighted copyright-related issues of 
particular USG concern, and urged the GOU to develop an 
Action Plan to address outstanding problems.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. On April 23 Ukraine's State Department of Intellectual 
Property (SDIP) hosted the seventh meeting of the IPR 
Enforcement Cooperation Group (ECG), with participation of 
numerous industry representatives. (Note: See Ref C for 
previous ECG meetings.  End Note.)  The ECG meeting was 
held in conjunction with a meeting of the GOU's inter- 
agency IPR Coordination Council and focused primarily on 
copyright issues.  (Note: Appropriately enough, April 23 
happened to be the UN's World Book and Copyright Day.  End 
note.) 
 
¶3. The following is a list of key participants: 
 
GOU 
--- 
Valentin Chebotaryov - Deputy Chairman, SDIP 
Sergiy Nikulesko     - Head of IP Inspectors, SDIP 
Serhiy Lebid         - Deputy Head of Economic Crimes 
                       Department, Ministry of Internal 
                       Affairs 
Oleksandr Pashynnyi  - Head of Trade Policy Department, 
                       State Customs Service 
Vadim Vnukov         - Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) 
Oleksiy Tymchenko    - State Tax Administration 
Olena Pavlenko       - Kyiv City Administration 
 
Industry 
-------- 
Ignat Berezhny         - Ukrainian Association of the Music 
                         Industry (IFPI affiliate) 
Vladislav Shapoval     - LEXFOR Legal Services 
                         (representing the Business 
                          Software Alliance - BSA) 
Daniil Klyuchnikov     - Microsoft Ukraine 
Vladimir Iling         - Ukrainian Anti-Piracy Association 
                         (representing the Motion Picture 
                          Association - MPA) 
 
------------------------ 
Inter-Agency Cooperation 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. Chebotaryov and other GOU officials focused throughout 
the meeting on the need to improve inter-agency cooperation 
in the area of IPR enforcement.  Chebotaryov criticized the 
GOU Coordination Council as being less than fully 
effective.  To remedy the situation, Chebotaryov proposed 
that the group push for a Cabinet of Ministers Resolution 
to raise the profile of the body and require that it be 
chaired by a Deputy Prime Minister.  Such a revamped 
Coordination Council would have the necessary clout to 
bolster IPR enforcement efforts, he said.  (Note: SDIP 
unsuccessfully pushed for a similar resolution in 2007. 
End note.)  Chebotaryov noted that SDIP had already drafted 
the relevant decree but that the Ministry of Justice was 
resisting. 
 
¶5. Representatives of the various government agencies in 
attendance agreed on the need to push the issue to the 
level of the Cabinet of Ministers.  Lebid argued that 
representatives of the judiciary and the Prosecutor 
General's Office should also be included in Coordination 
 
KYIV 00000821  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Council meetings, since they play a critical role in 
enforcement.  Vnukov suggested that interested parties 
approach the President's Office should they face resistance 
within the Cabinet.  Chebotaryov added that local officials 
should also be more involved in such IPR coordination 
meetings, and asked Pavlenko to pass this request to the 
appropriate authorities within the Kyiv City 
Administration. 
 
¶6. Iling and Berezhny promised to lend their support to 
SDIP's proposal to increase the stature of the Coordination 
Council and requested that industry representatives be 
included in future meetings of the body.  Chebotaryov, 
while not rejecting the idea out of hand, said he was 
afraid to open the meetings completely.  Too many industry 
participants could make Coordination Council meetings 
unwieldy and ineffective, he said, and if they opened the 
meeting to any industry reps, they would have to open it to 
all.  Berezhny responded by encouraging Chebotaryov to find 
some alternative mechanism to include industry in the 
coordination process. 
 
---------------------------- 
Problematic Copyright Issues 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. Deputy Econ Counselor praised the GOU for its recent 
accomplishments on IPR enforcement and called for continued 
progress on copyright-related areas of particular USG 
concern: rampant software piracy and continued government 
use of unlicensed software (ref E); open-air markets in 
large cities (ref D); internet piracy (ref D); public 
performance piracy and problems of collective management 
(ref A); and the CD/DVD hologram sticker program (ref B). 
 
Software 
-------- 
 
¶8. Chebotaryov recognized that the government's use of 
unlicensed software set a bad example for society and 
promised that SDIP was "seriously working" with the 
government to rectify the problem.  The main obstacle was 
securing the necessary budget funding, which meant 
substantial progress was possible only over several years 
time, he said.  Shapoval called for changes to the Criminal 
Code to criminalize the use, not just buying and selling, 
of pirated software.  Shapoval also complained that the GOU 
had failed to bring a single court case against the head of 
a company using pirated software.  Klyuchnikov briefed on 
Microsoft's and BSA's ongoing IPR outreach campaign in the 
regions, and asked for GOU support in getting better 
participation from local government officials. 
 
Recording/Film Industry Issues 
------------------------------ 
 
¶9. Chebotaryov also briefed on steps to improve collective 
management and the hologram sticker program, as agreed with 
industry at a recent meeting hosted by the European 
Commission (refs A-B).  Berezhny encouraged the GOU to step 
up enforcement efforts to reduce physical piracy at 
markets.  He also argued that amendments to the Criminal 
Code were needed to clarify that internet piracy be treated 
as severely as more traditional forms of piracy, and to 
reduce some of the evidentiary burden on rights holders and 
law enforcement when bringing IPR cases to court.  Iling 
urged the GOU to stop pirates from video recording movies 
in Ukrainian cinemas.  He also highlighted internet piracy 
as a major concern for the film industry, which he said 
could provide some technical assistance to GOU 
investigators on the subject. 
 
----------- 
Action Plan 
----------- 
 
¶10. Deputy Econ Counselor encouraged the GOU to develop an 
Action Plan in order to tackle outstanding IPR problems and 
said the USG would be anxious to discuss the details of a 
plan at the appropriate time.  Chebotaryov noted that, if 
they succeeded in raising the level of the IPR Coordination 
Council, the revamped body would likely want to develop a 
joint Action Plan as one of its first tasks. 
 
KYIV 00000821  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
TAYLOR