VZCZCXRO8958
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHBD #0068/01 0840552
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250552Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4478
INFO RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 2036
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 3487
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000068 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS FOR EAP/MTS/COPPOLAMG, EEB/TPP/IPE/URBANJ 
STATE PASS TO USTR EHLERK, BAER 
STATE PASS TO USPTO 
SINGAPORE FOR FINATT BAKERS 
BANGKOK FOR FCS/NESSJ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD USTR WTRO BX
 
SUBJECT:  BRUNEI LEARNING MORE ABOUT IPR BUT GAPS REMAIN 
 
REF:  BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 40 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
¶1. (SBU) Over the past month, post has seen more engagement on 
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues, primarily driven by the 
private sector.  Under the sponsorship of the Brunei Economic 
Development Board's (BEDB) ICentre, US based IPR attorneys provided 
detailed briefings to new IT businesses, government of Brunei (GoB) 
officials, and academics. In addition, Ambassador Todd and embassy 
have pressed senior GoB officials regarding increased IPR 
enforcement and, specifically focusing on prosecutions. The 
increased public attention in Brunei on IPR is a welcome step. 
However, as noted in Reftel, much more must be done, especially in 
regards to prevention of disc piracy. The GoB, private sector, and 
other interested parties must sustain these positive steps. 
 
BRUNEI LEARNING MORE ABOUT IPR 
-------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) During the week of March 9, the Brunei Economic Development 
Board (BEDB), through the BEDB ICentre, sponsored a number of 
seminars on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).  (NOTE: The ICentre 
seeks to develop new Brunei based startups, mostly working in the IT 
sector. The ICentre has a partnership with the National University 
of Singapore (NUS) to provide a number of speakers and seminars in 
Brunei. END NOTE.)  US based attorneys, from the firm of Fenwick and 
West, Roger Tolbert and Andrew Serafini were the seminar speakers. 
Tolbert and Serafini spoke with new startups companies as well as 
with government officials, academics, and other interest parties. 
The sessions featured detailed but basic level IPR topics.   Tolbert 
spoke on the various aspects of IP license agreements while Serafini 
addressed IP patent law and due diligence. In discussions with DCM, 
both Tolbert and Serafini noted a high level of interest in IPR 
issues. However, this was tempered by a relatively low overall 
knowledge of key IPR elements.  Both noted that their sessions with 
new business owners were very productive and that they believe there 
is potential for development in Brunei but much remains to be done 
to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework. 
 
AMBASSADOR TODD PRESSES IPR CONCERNS WITH DEPUTY FOREIGN MINSTER 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶3. (SBU) On March 19, Ambassador Todd met with Deputy Foreign 
Minister, Pehin Lim Jock Seng, to discuss a number of issues. 
Ambassador Todd noted the USG's concerns regarding IPR, specifically 
in the areas of enforcement. Ambassador took the opportunity to 
follow up on a number of areas noted in Reftel.  Specific attention 
was brought to the lack of prosecution. While some ministries and 
departments such as the Trade Department in the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and the Customs department in the Ministry of Home Affairs 
have been cooperative, others have been hesitant to engage further 
on IPR enforcement. Pehin Lim noted that Brunei is concerned about 
IPR and that he would speak directly with his counterparts in the 
Attorney General Chambers (AGC) and Ministry of Home Affairs.  Pehin 
Lim also asked for a letter, which was provide the next day, from 
Ambassador Todd detailing USG concerns and noted he would also 
discuss with the Sultan the issues raised by the Ambassador. 
 
DCM NOTES KEY IPR ISSUES WITH TRADE DEPARTMENT 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶4. (SBU) On March 17, DCM discussed IPR concerns Vincent Kong, 
Director of Trade Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
(MFAT).  Mr. Kong was joined by all of his MFAT trade team. DCM took 
the opportunity to review, again, the concerns noted in Reftel. 
Specifically focusing on the need to meet more with IPR rights 
holders, DCM noted that more could be done to promote such meetings 
and that MFAT can and should play a key role.  Kong agreed but noted 
that the GoB is often 'taciturn' when it comes to discussing 
publicly its IPR efforts. He noted that MFAT will work with GoB 
ministries to do a better job of outreach and communication.  All 
agreed that a major area of focus must be prevention and prosecution 
of disc piracy. DCM pointed out that Brunei does have advantages 
that other countries lack. Specifically the GoB can focus on a 
particular IPR area (i.e. disc piracy) and make positive changes 
quickly given the overall small size of the market. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
¶5. (SBU) BEDB's commitment to improving Brunei's IPR knowledge is a 
welcome sign.  BEDB continues to be at the forefront of many of 
Brunei's positive steps forward in terms of economic 
 
BANDAR SER 00000068  002 OF 002 
 
 
diversification. The support of Prince Mohammed, Brunei's Foreign 
Minister, remains a key to BEDB success and increased IPR 
enforcement and protections will need support from the highest 
levels of the GoB. Ambassador Todd continues to press USG IPR 
concerns and post believes the MFAT remains the best interlocutor to 
bring these issues to the forefront.  Post is pleased that the AGC 
will put forward nominations for the USPTO Global Intellectual 
Property Academy (GIPA) program in early May.  Continued engagement 
and training is required for both the private sector and GoB. As 
Bruneians become more familiar with IPR, we may see local rights 
holders demand the same protections and enforcement that 
international rights holders are currently and correctly demanding. 
 
MCINTYRE