VZCZCXRO3439
OO RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0336/01 2041610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 221610Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3036
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO IMMEDIATE 4025
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 8512

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000336 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO USPTO WAYNE PAUGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD MX
SUBJECT: MONTERREY STEPPING UP EFFORTS TO COMBAT PIRACY -- BUT IT'S 
AN UPHILL BATTLE 
 
REF: A) 2007 MONTERREY 603, B) MEXICO 1533 
 
MONTERREY 00000336  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.    (U)  Summary:  The Nuevo Leon Attorney General's Office is 
turning the heat up on vendors of pirated and counterfeit goods 
with 176 raids and nearly 5 million seized goods within the 
first three months of the year.  The PGR's target for 2008 is to 
seize 18 million of these goods, a 56% increase over 2007. 
However, the focus remains on seizing goods and targeting street 
vendors rather than shutting down illicit markets or going after 
the owners of these establishments.  In addition, a complacent 
public and inadequate federal laws continue to make combating 
intellectual and industrial property rights difficult, although 
some legal reforms have been proposed.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.    (U)  In December 2007, post hosted an Intellectual 
Property Rights (IPR) conference in Monterrey in conjunction 
with Embassy Mexico.  The Conference, entitled "Effective 
Cooperation for Combating Intellectual Property Violations," was 
attended by over 50 participants from different parts of Mexico 
representing different levels and branches of government and the 
private sector.  The three-day conference included sessions on 
how to apply the Mexican penal system to Intellectual Property 
(IP), how to conduct a successful IP criminal investigation, and 
examples of federal-state-local cooperation on IP issues. 
 
 
 
¶3.    (SBU)  Following the conference, EconOff met with two 
agents from Nuevo Leon's PGR (Attorney General's Office) who 
attended the event to assess the impact of the conference. 
Victor Cabrera Medrano, sub-delegate, and Alfdav Tellez Lopez, 
Federal Public Ministry Agent, presented their agency's 
ambitious anti-piracy plan for 2008.  Among the general 
strategies included in the plan are: coordination among the 
three branches of government; establishing direct links between 
the authorities and right holders to receive complaints and 
collaborate on developing anti-piracy strategies; reorganizing 
to better manage institutional resources; training personnel; 
and intensifying actions against piracy.  The agency seems to be 
concentrating its greatest efforts in the final goal by 
increasing the number of raids and seizure of pirated and 
counterfeit goods.  Last year, the PGR seized 10 million of 
these goods.  Their goal for 2008 is to seize 1.5 million goods 
per month, for a total of 18 million in 2008.  So far, they are 
surpassing this goal, having seized 5 million such goods in the 
first three months of the year through 176 raids and operations. 
 In April, an operation involving the raid of four vending posts 
in one location resulted in the confiscation of 2,725 pirated 
XBOX games, as well as the detention of the four vendors.  The 
agents also reported they are going after more labs where these 
goods are reproduced, primarily CD/DVDs.  The majority of these 
products come from Mexico City as a master copy which is then 
mass produced in illicit labs.  To date, the PGR has raided at 
least 3 labs in Monterrey, as opposed to about 5 last year. 
According to the PGR, the seized goods are subsequently 
incinerated. 
 
 
 
¶4.    (U)  Despite the increase in raids and seizures, no 
markets have been shut down, although many flea markets openly 
specialize in pirated goods, leaving vendors to set up shop 
again.  Also, authorities rarely go after the big fish, namely 
the owners of the locations selling pirated and counterfeit 
goods.  However, existing federal laws and the judicial process 
make such actions very difficult.  One of the PGR agents noted 
that judicial proceedings against IPR violators usually takes 6 
months to a year, but could be as much as 3-10 years in the 
worst cases.  Also, in order for the PGR to conduct raids and 
seizures, they must have a formal complaint from a private 
company that a specific vendor or location is violating its 
intellectual or industrial property rights (Reftel A).  This 
could change in the near future thanks to a proposed reform that 
allows authorities to go after pirates and counterfeiters 
without such a complaint.  This proposal has already passed the 
Chamber of Deputies, but still needs Senate approval.  In 
addition, an IPR judicial court has been proposed and was also 
passed by the Chamber of Deputies.  If approved by the Senate, a 
new court with three judges would be created dedicated to 
reviewing intellectual property and author's rights. By creating 
a separate court, the federal government hopes to shorten the 
judicial process for IPR cases and make them less costly (Reftel 
B). 
 
 
 
¶5.    (U)  Complacent public attitudes towards IPR and the 
 
MONTERREY 00000336  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
purchase of pirated goods also continue to make combating piracy 
very difficult.  A piracy survey conducted by Mexico's American 
Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) revealed the high level of pirated 
goods available to the public and people's willingness to buy 
them.  The survey was conducted in Mexico City, Guadalajara and 
Monterrey in September 2007 and indicated that Monterrey has an 
even greater piracy problem than the other two cities.  For 
example, 42% of Monterrey respondents perceived the purchase of 
pirated goods as a way to obtain goods of similar quality for a 
better price, rather than as an illegal act, compared to 30% in 
Guadalajara and 22% in Mexico City.  The number of respondents 
indicating they had purchased a pirated good was also higher in 
Monterrey (96%) versus Mexico City (90%) and Guadalajara (86%). 
Finally, prices for nearly all types of pirated goods, with the 
exception of CD/DVDs, were considerably lower in Monterrey. 
 
 
 
¶6.    (SBU)  Comment: Although the PGR's stepped-up efforts 
might be dealing some blows to some pirates and counterfeiters, 
they are hardly enough to stop the massive flow of pirated 
goods.  The proposed laws, if they are passed, would certainly 
help, but more such reforms will be needed, as well as greater 
resources for authorities to enforce the law.  However, as the 
AmCham survey reveals, changing the public's attitudes and 
purchasing behavior may be an even bigger uphill battle than 
reforming the laws or enforcing existing ones.  End Comment. 
WILLIAMSON