VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #1813/01 2320830
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190830Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0259
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 001813 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
USTR FOR GROVES AND FRANCESKI 
COMMERCE FOR SAMS AND USPTO 
STATE FOR EEB/KEAT 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT CLAIMS IPR IMPROVEMENTS DURING USTR VISIT 
 
REF: CAIRO 201 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified, not for Internet Distribution 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: While maintaining their longstanding 
resistance to USG requests regarding pharmaceutical test 
data exclusivity, GOE officials claimed progress in 
protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) during a 
USTR-led visit July 27-29.  Private-sector representatives 
agreed that IPR protection is improving, noting an 
increased political will to enforce ICT-related copyright 
protections even as technological advances make piracy 
cheaper and easier.  GOE and private-sector representatives 
also agreed on the need for more training for Egyptian 
inspectors, prosecutors and judges, as well as increased 
public awareness of the economic damage of uncontrolled 
counterfeiting and piracy, and the health and safety 
hazards posed by illegal products.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) An interagency team comprising Jennifer Groves and 
Sonia Franceski of USTR, Stephen Keat of State EEB, Tom 
Sams of the Department of Commerce, and Oliver Metzger of 
the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress visited 
Egypt July 27-29 for discussions on IPR protection and US- 
Egyptian trade relations.  The delegation met with GOE 
ministries and agencies concerned with trade and IPR 
protection as well as private-sector groups including the 
Egyptian Center for Intellectual Property and Information 
Technology and the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. 
Groves also spoke to an Arab League government and private- 
sector conference on "Modern Strategies for Combating 
Counterfeiting and Piracy". 
 
--------------- 
Pharmaceuticals 
--------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) GOE trade and health officials reiterated their 
longstanding position that a USG request regarding test 
data exclusivity for pharmaceutical marketing applications 
would exceed Egypt's obligations under the Trade-Related 
Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS)  Agreement 
(reftel).  Groves noted that while the GOE's regulations do 
not clearly provide protection against unauthorized 
reliance on pharmaceutical marketing approval data, the 
health ministry has in practice respected innovator drug 
patents and provided adequate data protection in recent 
years, and Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali promised to 
continue doing so in meetings with USTR Schwab and Commerce 
Secretary Gutierrez in Washington last year. Samia Salah, 
head of the GOE's Drug Policy and Planning Committee, took 
under advisement Groves' request for written confirmation 
of that pledge. 
 
--------------------- 
Copyright Enforcement 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Representatives of copyright-reliant industries 
including Arab Radio and Television (ART), Arab Media 
Corporation (AMC), Mazzika music channel, and software 
firms were complimentary toward the efforts of the GOE's 
Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) 
to increase IPR protection. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In a meeting organized by the Egyptian Center for 
Intellectual Property and Information Technology, the AMC 
representative said that IPR protection had improved 
significantly in his market during the last six months.  He 
said that GOE officials are demonstrating increased 
political will to combat IPR violations through raids on 
illegal cable and satellite distribution, improved handling 
of evidence, and increased judicial training.  However, he 
noted that Arabic music remains the most pirated music in 
the world.  The Mazzika representative noted that pirated 
versions of his company's music appear on the internet 
within a day of release.  Egyptian expatriates in the 
United States are the biggest consumers of the pirated 
music, he said. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Industry representatives noted concern about the 
overlapping authorities of ITIDA and the Ministry of 
Culture, which has a historically poor record of IPR 
enforcement.  In a separate meeting, Mohamed Abdou, a 
deputy to the Secretary General of Supreme Council of 
Culture, told the delegation that the Ministry intends to 
draft guidelines to clarify new roles of the two Ministries 
in the area of entertainment software.   However, Mohammed 
Hegazy of ITIDA said separately that the Ministry of 
Culture and ITIDA already agree that the distribution 
license for all software should come from ITIDA.  While 
ITIDA appears better able to enforce IPR for software, 
Hegazy warned that his office will have increasing 
difficulty soliciting case-by-case assistance from 
individual right-holders because of an increasing workload. 
His office now produces about 25 technical reports a day. 
 
--------------------- 
Requests for training 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) GOE and private-sector officials noted a need for 
increased capacity in several IPR-related fields.  Salah 
said the Ministry of Health is seeking training for 
inspections for counterfeit drugs, inspection of biological 
drug plants, and processing drug counterfeiting cases from 
start to finish. She said that pharmaceutical manufacturers 
such as Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Glaxo have already offered 
training to help combat counterfeits. Mohamed Abou Shady, 
head of the Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Police, also 
sought cooperation from right-holder companies and the USG 
to bolster his unit's IPR training regimen.  (Unfortunately 
Abou Shady has since retired, and we believe his successor 
lacks experience in IPR.)  Industry representatives cited a 
continuing interest in USPTO training. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment:  In addition to requests for more 
training, the universal refrain we heard from government 
and industry is for more public awareness of IPR 
protection.  However, we sense that the problem is not so 
much awareness but apathy.  Retail buyers of pirated songs 
and software likely know, but do not care, that the 
products are illegal.  We believe Egypt would benefit from 
public-awareness campaigns that highlight the health and 
safety dangers of counterfeit products such as bogus 
pharmaceuticals and auto parts, as well as the economic 
damage caused by uncontrolled counterfeiting and piracy, 
such as the loss of jobs and investment in copyright- 
reliant industries.  Vigorous prosecution of IPR pirates, 
and publicity about significant sentences, would also help 
Egypt improve respect for IPR.  We will continue working 
with GOE and industry representatives on these objectives. 
 
¶9.  (U) The visiting delegation did not have an opportunity 
to clear this message. 
 
SCOBEY