Cablegate: Intellectual Property From the Revolutionary

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R 161215Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 003414

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR, USPTO, LOC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD WIPO VE
SUBJECT: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY
PERSPECTIVE

REF: A. CARACAS 486
B. CARACAS 3257
C. CARACAS 2331

CARACAS 00003414 001.2 OF 002

This message is sensitive but unclassified, please treat
accordingly.

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Summary
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1. (SBU) The BRV's Autonomous Intellectual Property Service
(SAPI) held a conference on November 3-4 to discuss
intellectual property from the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative
for the Americas) perspective. The event brought together
government officials, Cuban regime panelists, and members of
leftist international NGOs. All panelists eagerly bashed the
United States and multinationals, and agreed that the current
intellectual property rights (IPR) regime did not apply to
developing countries. SAPI's president said her organization
was working to "put a brake on the present course of IPR in
the world," while SAPI's former president (now heading the
BRV office governing measurements and technical standards)
said he would fight multinationals trying to "dominate"
Venezuela. Such declarations by government officials clearly
signal that the BRV will continue to condone (and even
promote) infringements of IPR on Venezuelan soil. End
summary.

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Word from Venezuela's IPR authorities
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2. (SBU) On November 3-4, the BRV's Autonomous Intellectual
Property Service (SAPI), the government agency that oversees
IPR enforcement and issues patents, held an open-invitation
event to discuss intellectual property from the perspective
of ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, Venezuela's
propsed alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas).
All of SAPI's leadership was present, as well as a variety of
international guests from leftist NGOs, such as the Third
World Network and IP Justice, and a handful of Cuban regime
presenters. A quick look at the sign-in sheet revealed
attendance by supreme court officials and the Ministry of
Light Industry and Commerce. Despite being free to the
public, SAPI provided complimentary briefcases, office
materials, and refreshments. A common theme of the
conference was bashing the United States and multinationals,
characterizing intellectual property rights as manifestations
of "greedy capitalism."

3. (SBU) SAPI's lackluster enforcement of intellectual
property rights is in large part responsible for Venezuela's
continued designation as a Special 301 "Priority Watch List"
country (Ref A). The current director of SAPI, Sorelys Soto,
told the group that SAPI's mandate was to "make IPR known to
the general public" and to "put a brake on the present course
of IPR in the world." She added that she wished to "rescue"
IP benefits that are controlled by "a few powerful hands" and
turn them over to the people for their collective enjoyment.
(Note: The word "rescue" has been used by the BRV often to
signify takeover, especially in rural land expropriations.
End Note.)

4. (SBU) The event's biggest star, Eduardo Saman (SAPI's
director until April 2006 and current director of SENCAMER,
the National Autonomous Service for Normalization, Quality,
Measurement, and Technical Regulations) told the crowd he
could now "die in peace" since he had already converted SAPI
to his vision. Using typically Bolivarian martial language,
he added that SENCAMER was his "new trench," since
standardization and certification are also used by
multinationals to "dominate Venezuela."

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Cubans galore

CARACAS 00003414 002.2 OF 002

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5. (SBU) SAPI's event featured at least five Cuban speakers
(all of whom read pre-approved scripts). Cuba's National
Coordinator for the Cuba-Venezuela Agreement opened the
event, noting that manufactured goods really belong to the
workers who made them, and that the United States defends its
"perverse capitalist system" by enforcing IPR regulations
that protect its chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech, software
and entertainment industries. Other Cuban presenters,
including the Director of the Cuban Industrial Property
Office, Maria Sanchez Torres, criticized pharmaceutical
multinationals for not investing in third world disease
research.

6. (SBU) One Cuban presenter called for Cuba and Venezuela
to "mount a resistance" to the current international IPR
framework through an online network in defense of culture
(www.porlacultura.com). She also suggested organizational
linkages, outreach to "expose" the developed world's IPR
vision, and working within WTO and WIPO by filing complaints.
On November 12, the presidents of the Cuban Book Institute
and the National Center for Venezuelan Books signed an
agreement allowing co-management of copyrights for affiliated
authors. Both said the move would "do away with mechanisms
in the publishing world that exclude editorial works from
Cuba and Venezuela."

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Revolutionary IPR education
---------------------------

7. (SBU) Other organizations within the BRV are aligning to
SAPI's IPR goals. Among them is the Bolivarian University of
Venezuela (UBV), which according to its president, is
"committed to a revolutionary vision." UBV is offering a
post-grad program in IPR, currently in its second year, and
over 40,000 students are enrolled in university's law
program, which "contextualizes IPR with social/community
goals." Saman praised the UBV's program, and added that many
of its foreign students were attending on scholarships funded
by Venezuela's bilateral agreements (Ref B).

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Comment
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8. (SBU) Attending a BRV event that so openly espouses
links to Cuba is a rare opportunity for a U.S. official. Not
surprisingly, the event brought together those who share the
same intellectual property vision -- that the current
international IPR framework is not in the interest of
developing countries and that it is just a tool for
multinationals to protect their investments. Comments by the
BRV's IPR authorities suggest that SAPI has no intention of
changing its anti-IPR stance and that SENCAMER, under Saman's
leadership, will follow down SAPI's path shortly. Despite
some positive strides in protection of intellectual property
by SENIAT (the Customs and Tax Agency), such as enabling
seizures of pirated goods, it looks like the BRV will keep
condoning widespread infringement of intellectual property
rights in Venezuela. End Comment.

BROWNFIELD

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