VZCZCXRO0687
OO RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHRH #1375/01 2881055
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151055Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1712
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001375 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR JASON BUNTIN, CHRIS WILSON 
USDOC FOR STEVEN GARRETT 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD KIPR ECON EINV PREL SA
SUBJECT: SCENE SETTER FOR A/USTR CHRIS WILSON VISIT 
 
REF: RIYADH 524 
     RIYADH 575 
     RIYADH 789 
     RIYADH 793 
      RIYADH 982 
     JEDDAH 297 
      RIYADH 1202 
      RIYADH 1366 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Saudi Arabia has made significant progress on 
improving the climate to protect intellectual property rights in the 
last several years.  It has done so through the commitment of the 
reformist King, sustained hard work by dedicated staff, and the 
conjunction of committed senior leaders in key ministries like the 
Ministries of Commerce and Industry, and Culture and Information. 
There is still piracy in Saudi Arabia, and the government can - and 
should - do more.  However, your trip offers a good opportunity for 
Saudi Arabia to demonstrate the significant progress it has made on 
long-standing problems.  Your visit is also an opportunity to cement 
a broader IPR partnership that will help Saudi Arabia realize its 
ambition to become a leader in the Middle East in a new high tech 
economy. End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) As local industry representatives report, Saudi Arabia has 
made significant progress on several fronts in improving the 
protection of intellectual property rights.  On copyrights, the 
Ministry of Culture and Information has sustained a strong 
partnership with industry to disrupt street markets for illegal 
movies, cds and computer software.  The Ministry has conducted 
thousands of raids and seizures, and reports it has closed a large 
number of stores.  More importantly, it has set up a web site to 
publicize these activities, for the first time naming and shaming 
stores that engage in this activity.  MOCI acknowledges it needs to 
do more.  One of the key goals it has for your trip is to agree with 
industry on specific steps that will help the Ministry increase the 
number of MOCI officials and beat cops dedicated to IPR enforcement 
and cataloguing seizures, as well as provide training to identify 
and shut down internet pirate sites.  MOCI also wants help to 
improve its web site to raise public awareness. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Saudi Arabia has also made significant strides in improving 
its patent protection.  In just two years, the Saudi Food and Drug 
Authority (SFDA) stood up, taking over management of the medical 
devices and pharmaceutical sectors from the Ministry of Health.  The 
change is truly remarkable, as demonstrated by its modern, well-lit 
office space which is open and welcoming to customers and companies. 
 They have modernized the application process from paper to 
electronic, which allows them both to be more transparent and to 
process applications for product registration in days and weeks 
rather than months.  They have worked closely with King Abdulaziz 
City for Science and Technology (KACST) partners to put into place 
protections for data exclusivity that they believe will help patch 
the holes until a complete Saudi patent system is available.  Saudi 
Arabia just filled one of these important holes with the King's 
approval of a decree granting exclusive marketing rights to products 
registered before 2004, an action that will safeguard millions in 
revenues for U.S. firms. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Industry is very complimentary of the attitude of Saudi 
ministries, ranging from MOCI to Commerce to the Saudi FDA.  Key 
personnel - most of whom have American education and understand why 
improved IPR is important both for us and for Saudi Arabia's future 
- are now in senior government roles.  These officials have 
dedicated considerable efforts to overcome suspicions and lack of 
understanding within the government, pass regulations and laws that 
would comply with WTO obligations and the standards we want to see, 
as well as begin to change the situation in malls and on the street. 
 These officials have worked for a long time to improve the 
situation on the ground, and view your visit as a key opportunity to 
benchmark their performance. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Saudi Arabia, as decreed by the King, is staking a 
significant bet on developing a high tech economy to meet its 
long-term development needs, diversifying beyond oil over the next 
30 years.  The country faces significant challenges - beginning with 
the need to double the number of existing jobs over the next decade 
to keep the unemployment rate at its current 10 percent.  The King 
understands his country's future rests on the ability to develop an 
economy beyond petrochemicals.  Saudi Arabia would very much like to 
develop its IPR economy, ranging from the outer edges of science to 
medicine.  This is not a passing fancy, but a serious commitment, as 
demonstrated by the King's decision to dedicate more than $10 
billion of his own money to create The King Abdullah University for 
Science and Technology (KAUST).  Your partners in the concerned 
Saudi ministries understand the vision, but have to try to achieve 
it with limited budgets for staff, language barriers, and a large 
number of competing priorities. 
 
 
RIYADH 00001375  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Your commitment not just to visit Riyadh, but spend several 
days is a very important gesture that your Saudi hosts will deeply 
appreciate.  We recommend that you use your trip to work with Saudi 
officials to begin to chart the roadmap for a post-301 future.  Your 
partners in the SAG are eager to move beyond the framework of the 
301 process to a more positive discussion of how we can best 
collaborate to create the climate the King believes is necessary to 
meet the country's development challenges. 
 
ZIADEH