VZCZCXRO1170
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHAH #0137/01 0290857
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290857Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4149
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 6185
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3868
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3727
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 4429
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1453
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 4352
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000137 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB 
ENERGY FOR EKIMOFF/BURPOE/COHEN 
COMMERCE FOR DSTARKS/EHOUSE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON PGOV EINV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: INITIATIVE BY IPR OWNERS KEY TO 
ENFORCEMENT 
 
ASHGABAT 00000137  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Turkmenistan has been slow to pursue 
intellectual property rights (IPR) protection since its 
independence.  Counterfeit goods like computer software, audio 
and video recordings, and clothing are freely available on the 
local market at prices significantly lower than those of 
licensed products.  The situation with IPR in the industrial 
sector has improved over the last decade.  Companies register 
patents, trademarks, and licensing agreements with the Turkmen 
Ministry of Economy and Development.  Turkmenistan has adopted 
intellectual property rights legislation and created 
mechanisms to enforce it.  Since the law envisages that IPR 
enforcement should be initiated by IPR owners, injured parties 
need to be proactive in seeking recourse for violations on the 
Turkmen market.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to local experts, industrial technologies 
and equipment that companies use in Turkmenistan are, for the 
most part, genuine and duly licensed.  About ten years ago, 
the Turkmen Government started requiring foreign companies to 
register their licenses and/or patents at the Patent 
Department of the Ministry of Economy and Development.  The 
Patent Department in turn verifies the registered licenses for 
legitimacy.  The Turkmen Government is motivated to encourage 
foreign companies to observe this requirement because the 
government levies taxes on license payments made according to 
such licensing arrangements. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Foreign companies also register their trademarks at 
the Patent Department to protect them from illegal use. 
According to a local lawyer, at least one large foreign 
company has sought to protect its trademark from unauthorized 
use through legal action in Turkmen courts.  He refused to 
provide further details citing confidentiality. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In contrast to license and trademark registration 
practices, little has been done to enforce IPR involving 
consumer goods.  Counterfeit clothing products and 
accessories, made mostly in China and Turkey, dominate the 
local market for imported clothing.  CDs and DVDs with 
counterfeit software, videos, movies, and music (both foreign 
and local) can be purchased or rented at any corner for a 
price that is slightly higher than the cost of a blank disc. 
Piracy of commercial TV satellite channels is also widespread 
in Turkmenistan. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The following laws regulate protection of IPR in 
Turkmenistan: Law on Scientific Intellectual Property (1992), 
Law on Legal Protection of Algorithms, Software, Databases, 
and IC Devices (1994), Law on Inventions and Industrial 
Designs (2008), and Law on Trade and Service Marks and Places 
of Origin (2008).  Turkmenistan's Civil Code regulates 
protection of copyrights. 
 
¶7. (SBU) According to local lawyers, the above-mentioned laws 
can be enforced in the following way.  An IPR owner, whose 
property rights were violated, should commence a legal action 
to stop the IPR violator's activities and to obtain 
compensation for losses related to the violation.  If the IPR 
violator fails to comply with the court decision, the IPR 
owner can request law enforcement officials to enforce the 
court's decision.  According to this procedure, it is the IPR 
owner's responsibility to initiate action to protect its 
rights.  No Turkmen Government agency will take action against 
an IPR violator without a legal case having been initiated by 
the IPR owner. 
 
 
ASHGABAT 00000137  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) This feature of Turkmen IPR legislation explains why 
IPR enforcement actions in Turkmenistan have occurred only in 
cases where there has been an interested party.  It also 
explains why IPR protection is weakest in the consumer goods 
area.  Because Turkmenistan's market for name-brand foreign 
goods is small, foreign producers have not pursued such cases 
in the country.  Local IPR owners generally do not care about 
protecting their IPR because of a general perception that IPR, 
especially copyrights, are not the exclusive property of their 
owner.  Moreover, some composers and musicians consider 
pirated disks with their recordings as a means of promoting 
their careers. 
 
¶9. (SBU) COMMENT:  A substantial improvement of the IPR 
situation in Turkmenistan, especially in its consumer market, 
will most likely be tied to increased consumer purchasing 
power and greater demand for genuine name-brand foreign 
products.  If the country becomes a more important market for 
foreign producers, more and more IPR owners will be interested 
in taking the necessary steps to enforce their IPR in 
Turkmenistan.  By law, private sector initiative is the key 
impetus for authorities to act against IPR violations in the 
country.  END COMMENT. 
 
CURRAN