VZCZCXRO1768
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1042/01 2331623
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211623Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4912
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 4430
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8098
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 9838
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 7622
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 6319
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7814
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0976
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 001042 
 
STATE FOR JOELLEN URBAN, ROB HUGHES 
COMMERCE FOR LAURIE FUSSELL 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR KATHERINE KALUTKIEWICZ, TANUJA GARDE 
DEPT PASS USPTO 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ETRD ECON BR
SUBJECT:  BRAZIL IPR: GOB STRENGTHENS ENFORCEMENT BUT SOME IN BRAZIL 
QUESTION IP ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 
 
BRASILIA 00001042  001.3 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  On August 18, the Brazilian Ministry of Exterior 
Relations (MRE), Division of Intellectual Property (DIPI), hosted a 
presentation to interested members of the diplomatic community by 
the National Anti-Piracy Council (CNCP).  Chaired by the Ministry of 
Justice, CNCP brings together various ministries and private sector 
representatives to focus on enforcement issues.  CNCP's MOJ-based 
Executive Secretary outlined the organization's new national action 
plan to combat piracy and its branding campaign designed to 
encourage the consumption of legitimate goods.  Representatives of 
CNCP member organizations (both public and private) responsible for 
the action plan's five priority projects provided updates on the 
content and status of each project.  While CNCP's commitment to 
enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting recognizes the 
economic impact of intellectual property (IP) protection, an earlier 
MRE-sponsored conference strongly questioned the connection between 
IP protection and economic development.  End summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
NEW NATIONAL PLAN TO COMBAT PIRACY 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On May 28, the Brazilian National Anti-Piracy Council (CNCP) 
launched (with high level participation, including Minister of 
Justice Tarso Genro) its 2007-2008 annual report, a new anti-piracy 
branding campaign called Brasil Original (the "Brasil Original" logo 
will be used on tags to identify legitimate products), and a new 
action plan to combat piracy. 
 
¶3. (U) On August 18, CNCP presented further details on the progress 
of the new action plan and priority projects for this year.  The 
event, hosted at MRE and attended by representatives from 
approximately fifteen countries, was the inauguration of Post's 
effort to bring together the diplomatic community in Brazil in 
support of IP protection. 
 
¶4. (U) CNCP's 2009 priority projects (each assigned to a CNCP member 
organization for coordination) are: 
 
-"Cities Free of Piracy" and "Legal Markets": The Brazilian 
Institute for Ethical Competition (ETCO) is coordinating these two 
projects.  ETCO President Andre Franco Montoro Filho explained that 
in five "pilot cities" (Brasilia, Curitiba, Riberao Preto, Rio de 
Janeiro, and Sao Paulo), the CNCP is working to sign agreements 
defining obligations, implement a package of action (including 
following up on existing local initiatives), and create a network of 
local stakeholders.  In three of the cities, they have already 
identified the local lead and started the process of evaluating 
initiatives and building a municipal network.  The CNCP hopes to 
conclude agreements for all five cities by September and to have 
measurable progress by December 3, when Brazil observes a National 
Anti-Piracy Day. 
 
-"Merchants Against Piracy": The National Commercial Council (CNC), 
an association of labor federations and unions, is leading the 
effort to raise awareness among merchants and vendors of the 
negative effects of piracy, first in the "pilot cities" of Brasilia, 
Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Salvador, and Rio de Janeiro.  CNC is working 
with the Association of Brazilian Shopping Centers to capitalize on 
the visibility and opinion-shaping power of well-known shopping 
centers and shop owners.  The "Brasil Original" logo is part of this 
project's broader effort to convey to consumers an image of 
legality.  CNCP hopes the "Brasil Original" tags and promotional 
materials will be in use in shops by December, 2009. 
 
-"Anti-Piracy Website": The Brazilian Association of Software 
Businesses (ABES) is leading the project to develop an interactive, 
consumer-focused website featuring anti-piracy education campaigns 
and information.  It is hoped that the site will allow both common 
users and rights-holders to post and share files (text and 
audio/video).  ABES noted that the challenge will be to keep the 
content fresh and attractive to users.  CNCP hopes to launch the 
site before December 3, 2009. 
 
-"Partnership with Internet Providers": The Ministry of Culture 
(MOC) is coordinating this effort to create mechanisms with internet 
providers that can prevent the online distribution of pirated 
products.  In November of 2008, MOC formed a working group with 
representatives from internet infrastructure and access provider 
 
BRASILIA 00001042  002.3 OF 003 
 
 
companies, with the goal of discussing ways to increase the 
availability of legal content and analyze models for confronting the 
distribution of illegal content.  The working group decided to 
examine (with respect to the Brazilian legal system) the British 
model for notifying violators by e-mail, then registered letter, and 
diminishing the internet speed available to the user as a deterrent 
when necessary.  Until February 2009, de Souza said, the response 
from access providers was positive.  At that time, the access 
providers expressed reluctance to conduct the agreed-upon analysis, 
so the working group decided the analysis should be conducted by 
three federal agencies - the MOC's judicial consultant branch, the 
Attorney General's Federal Public Ministry, and the Department of 
Consumer Protection.  The analyses began to come in this month, and 
the MOC plans a new meeting of the working group in the near future 
to discuss the results. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
MRE CONFERENCE - SOME QUESTION IP ROLE IN 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) While the GOB has demonstrated a strong commitment to 
fighting piracy and counterfeiting, there is not agreement across 
the board on the overall value of intellectual property rights in 
economic development.  A late-April conference organized by MRE's 
Intellectual Property Division (DIPI) in conjunction with the World 
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Brazilian patent and 
trademark office (INPI), and the Alexandre de Gusmao Foundation 
primarily discussed IP protection (particularly the patent system) 
not as an end in itself, but rather as one possible tool for 
achieving the ultimate end of industrial and economic development. 
To an audience of mostly students and executive-branch government 
representatives, a few speakers (including the President of INPI, a 
representative from the GOB Secretariat for Economic Law, a patent 
attorney from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the President of 
the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association, and representatives 
of two Brazilian pharmaceutical manufacturers associations) argued 
for the importance of IP protection to innovation, but the majority 
(including a former president of INPI, the IP Coordinator for the 
GOB National Health Vigilance Agency (ANVISA), three federal judges, 
a member of the federal Chamber of Deputies, the Brazilian 
representative to the Latin American Integration Association 
(ALADI), several academics, and a representative from the Ministry 
of Health's HIV program) ) highlighted a need to "balance" IP rights 
with the public good and concluded that IP protection does not 
necessarily create innovation or increase economic development. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Solange Machado, Brazil IP consultant for the U.S. Chamber 
of Commerce, and Jorge Raimundo, representative of the Brazilian 
Research-Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association 
(Interfarma), expressed disappointment at the repeated argument that 
IP protection does not increase innovation.  On a related note, 
Machado explained that the U.S. Chamber conducted a survey in 
conjunction with the Federation of Industry of the State of Sao 
Paulo (FIESP) which revealed that 94% of Brazilian federal 
legislators describe their knowledge of IP as limited, little, or 
none.  The Chamber has, therefore, started a campaign in the 
Brazilian Congress to raise awareness and knowledge of IP issues. 
 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Post has proposed to interested members of the diplomatic 
community in Brasilia that the CNCP presentation be the start of an 
ongoing, informal collaboration on IP.  Building on MRE's positive 
response to the Mission's request for a CNCP presentation to the 
diplomatic community, Post plans to schedule a follow-up meeting to 
discuss possible ways the diplomatic community can support the 
CNCP's efforts.  Post hopes that this positive start to 
collaboration among various like-minded missions and the GOB will 
lead to discussion on IP issues beyond piracy.  However, Post 
continues to observe a disconnect in the GOB's treatment of 
intellectual property: a multi-faceted, domestically-driven approach 
to enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting (led by MOJ's CNCP) 
contrasted against resistance to some existing aspects of, as well 
as any enhancements to, the broader international IP system among 
 
BRASILIA 00001042  003.3 OF 003 
 
 
some in MRE (as well as MOH, as reported previously).  This 
resistance seems to be motivated by MRE's political desire for 
Brazil to take a leading role among developing nations and a policy 
belief (led by MOH) that pharmaceutical patents contradict the 
public interest by limiting access to medications. While innovation 
has occasionally served as a hook for positive discussion, some at 
MRE seem intent on delinking conversations on innovation, economic 
development, and IP protection.  Support for IPR as an engine for 
innovation and economic development varies across Ministries, with 
stronger support, for example, within the Ministry of Commerce 
(MDIC), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), and the 
Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI).  Post will 
report septel on innovation views in other ministries.  End Comment. 
 
 
KUBISKE