VZCZCXRO3016
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #1034/01 0982100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 082100Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5992
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USNORTHCOM
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 001034 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPE/KEAT/URBAN 
STATE FOR WHA/MEX/WOLFSON 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MELLE/MCCOY/SHIGETOMI/VETERE 
STATE PASS TO JUSTICE FOR CCIPS/MERRIAM,KOUAME AND 
OPDAT/TRUEBELL AND RAMOS 
STATE PASS TO COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/ONAFTA/WORD 
STATE PASS TO COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/IPR/WILSON,BOGER 
COMMERCE PASS TO USPTO FOR RODRIGUEZ/BERDUT/MORALES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD MX
SUBJECT: SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IP A SUCCESS 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The Embassy, with the financial 
support of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and the Copyright 
Office, sponsored the Second International Conference on 
Intellectual Property, held in Monterrey from March 25- 
¶27.  This event, organized by the Mexican National 
College of Magistrates and Judges and the Mexican 
Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), among others, 
brought together more than 250 participants - including 
50 judges - from nine countries to share experiences and 
discuss the role of the judiciary in IP protection and 
enforcement.  Five U.S. speakers participated, including 
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew, U.S. 
District Court Judge Bernice Donald, and Associate 
Register Maria Pallante.  The conference was a success in 
that it was spearheaded by Mexican authorities and it 
increased the awareness and understanding within the 
judicial branch of the methods available to counter IP 
violations.  However in anticipation of next year's third 
conference, the Embassy will encourage greater 
international and judicial participation as well as 
attempt to shift the focus to equipping the participants 
with the necessary tools to fairly and effectively 
adjudicate an IP case.  End summary. 
 
Participants and U.S. Speakers 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) The March 25-27 conference was attended by more 
than 250 Mexican officials, lawyers and students, 
including around 50 judges, court officials and experts 
from nine different countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, 
Germany, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Spain, and the United 
States).  This was twice as large as the first annual 
international conference, held in Cancun in February 
¶2008. 
 
¶3.  (U) DOJ funded the participation of U.S. District 
Court Judge Bernice Donald, as well as the interpretation 
and audio-visual services.  Thanks to USPTO, Senior U.S. 
District Court Judge Ronald Lew and Barr Weiner, 
Associate Director for Policy at the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration's Office of Combination Products, were 
able to participate.  The Copyright Office was ably 
represented by Associate Register for Policy and 
International Affairs Maria Pallante.  Renowned patent 
expert Dr. Ananda Chakrabarty from the University of 
Illinois' College of Medicine at Chicago was asked to 
participate by the conference organizers and was 
privately funded. 
 
The Conference:  Weaknesses and Strengths 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) The three-day conference was broken up into 
several panel discussions and keynote speeches.  Patent 
issues were addressed, including patent criteria, patent 
linkage, data protection and enforcement.  On copyrights, 
speakers took up the issues of limits and exceptions, 
image rights, international treaties and their 
implications on digital copyrights, and copyright 
protection.  Finally, unfair competition and false 
advertising as they relate to trademarks were raised. 
 
¶5.  (U) Discussions often ran over time, as the speakers 
were engaging and the audience was inquisitive.  In some 
cases, language barriers and distance precluded panelists 
from coordinating their prepared comments beforehand, 
making the panel appear more like three or four mini- 
lectures rather than a cohesive discussion.  Moreover, 
the moderators were not effective in provoking a genuine 
exchange of ideas or facilitating a dialogue. 
 
 
MEXICO 00001034  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (U) However, feedback from the attendees was very 
positive, particularly with respect to the caliber of the 
speakers and the elevated understanding of the role of 
the judiciary in IP protection and enforcement. 
Participants also appreciated the international flavor of 
the conference, and pointed out that it was exciting to 
hear so many different languages united by one cause - 
the importance of protecting IPR.  One after another 
speaker stressed that in order to foster innovation and 
creativity, the judges, the law enforcement officials, 
the attorneys, the rightholders, and society as a whole 
have a responsibility to protect IPR, and each speaker, 
the Mexicans in particular, acknowledged that more needs 
to be done. 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Mexican authorities took strong ownership 
of this conference, which in itself is another success. 
However, as it was originally proposed, this conference 
was intended for judges, to provide them with the 
necessary skills to adjudicate IP cases.  An unfortunate 
consequence of the size and diversity of the audience - 
consisting of judges, lawyers, officials, academics and 
students - was the dilution of this intent. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The third annual international conference will 
be held in Merida in February 2010.  The Embassy will 
again support this effort, and in addition to securing 
the attendance of U.S. judges and other experts, we will 
reach out to other U.S. Embassies throughout the region 
and elsewhere and request their assistance in encouraging 
more international judicial participation at this event. 
In addition, we will attempt to encourage the organizers 
to focus their efforts on judicial training; for example, 
infringement case studies, evidentiary admission, 
judicial conduct, and sentencing.  The Embassy will also 
seek separate opportunities for judicial training. 
 
BASSETT