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Viewing cable 09SANJOSE609, COSTA RICA: STRATEGY FOR ADVANCING IPR
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09SANJOSE609 | 2009-07-21 14:53 | 2011-03-21 16:30 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy San Jose |
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHSJ #0609/01 2021453
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211453Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1048
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 0335
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 5790
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000609
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
EEB/TPP/IPE FOR JURBAN AND SKEAT, AND INL/C/CP FOR JVIGIL
PLEASE PASS TO DOJ FOR BLIPMAN
PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR DOLIVER, AMALITO AND GVETERE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON KIPR PGOV PREL CS
SUBJECT: COSTA RICA: STRATEGY FOR ADVANCING IPR
SUBJECT: COSTA RICA: IPR TRAINING WEEK A SUCCESS
REF: SAN JOSE 168
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Judicial School of Costa Rica hosted a three-day
workshop in June for 17 Costa Rican judges, supported by the U.S.
Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial
Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT) and Embassy San Jose.
Participants drafted a bench book that will serve as a guide for
judicial cases on intellectual property rights (IPR). As a
counterpoint to that effective "hands-on" activity, producers of
intellectual property -- musicians, film makers, and software
engineers -- made presentations on the necessity to enforce IPR laws
in order to protect and grow cultural and economic assets. Guest
judges from Argentina, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and Florida
assisted in the bench book drafting process and provided experience
and insight on IPR issues for the participating local judges.
Complementing the judges' workshop, Post organized a private sector
attorney round table on IPR featuring several of the visiting
judges. In addition, Post programmed an IPR speaker who presented
basic, intermediate, and advanced presentations to three different
audiences. This IPR week is another component in Post's overall
strategy to improve IPR enforcement in Costa Rica (reftel). END
SUMMARY.
------------------------
TRAINING WITH A DEADLINE
------------------------
¶2. (U) Embassy San Jose organized a "Judicial Exchange" workshop
June 23-25, 2009 which facilitated the drafting of a bench book for
Costa Rican judges to use in resolving IPR cases in accordance with
local laws and treaty obligations. Costa Rica's Judicial School,
led by Director Marvin Carvajal, hosted the workshop. OPDAT
provided budget support through State INL funds. During the first
session, OPDAT's Robert Lipman established the importance of a bench
book, which would serve as a compendium of IPR law and precedent for
judges to use as a guide when hearing IPR cases. OPDAT's
programming included four guest judges: Ariel O. Lijo of Argentina,
Sandra Luz Chicas Bautista of El Salvador, Juan M. Perez Gimenez of
Puerto Rico, and Virginia M. Hernandez Covington from the U.S.
Judges Lijo and Chicas emphasized that an IPR bench book has been
very relevant to IPR enforcement in their respective countries.
¶3. (U) To help the participants understand how the bench book would
be used, Lipman explained how the Toyota Business Model strategy
(plan, implement, learn, and improve) could be applied to a bench
book. The judges would draft a plan in the form of a bench book,
implement that plan by presiding over cases, learn from the result
of implementation, and make the necessary changes that will come
about as legislation evolves and new laws or violations take place.
Thus, a bench book drafted by Costa Rican judges establishes
"buy-in" to IPR, serves as a resource with IPR cases, and becomes a
dynamic document.
----------------------------------
WORKING IN GROUPS WITH EXPERT HELP
----------------------------------
¶4. (U) The local judges formed four groups to cover specific IPR
topics, including: (1) principles underlying intellectual crimes,
(2) techniques of investigation, (3) possible crimes, and (4)
confiscation and seizure. Each group researched the relevant Costa
Rican laws concerning their topic and compiled a
presentation/viewpoint on that topic. During this "hands-on"
drafting experience, the guest judges shared their expertise and
insights on IPR cases on how to compile the bench book. OPDAT was
pleased that the Costa Ricans were able to draft a bench book in two
and one half days.
¶5. (U) The following Costa Rican judges participated:
-- Adriana Jarquin Coto - Penal Judge
-- Elizabeth Montero Mena - Penal Judge
-- Mario Porras Villalta - Penal Judge
-- Marjorie Alvarez Morales - Penal Judge
-- Alvaro Hernandez Aguilar - Civil Judge
-- Elieth Vargas Ulate - Civil Judge
-- Guillermo Guila Alvarado - Civil Judge
-- Juan Carlos Brenes Vargas - Civil Judge
-- Juan Carlos Sanchez Benavides - Civil Judge
-- Marvin Arce Portuguez - Civil Judge
-- Estefana Brenes Alfaro - Traffic Judge
-- Marco Troyo Cordero - Constitutional Court room
-- Jorge Luis Cambronero Jimenez - First Court room
-- Manuel Fernando Jimenez Aguilar - First Court room
-- Alejandra Valenciano Chinchilla - Third Court room
-- Ricardo Rodriguez Vega - Special Collection Judge
-- Ronald Eduardo Segura Mena - Prosecutor, Economic Crimes
--------------------------------------------- ----
HOW TO UNDERSTAND IPR? TALK TO A CREATIVE PERSON
--------------------------------------------- ----
¶6. (U) During the workshop, invited artists, producers and media
experts made presentations, joined discussions, and shared their
understanding and experience on IPR from the "victims" point of
view. Mauricio Cortez, General Manager of International Channel
DestinosTV, writes, produces, and shoots documentaries showing the
beauty of Costa Rica. He explained the importance of protecting
intellectual property by directly stating, "Without our material, we
have no business." He spoke of the importance of sales of images to
foreign buyers and noted that local producers of video images for
tourism or promotional purposes often rob images with little concern
for IPR.
¶7. (U) The following guest speakers made appearances at the three
day workshop:
-- Marvin Araya, Director of the Philharmonic Orchestra Costa Rica
and President of the Artist's Association (AIE);
-- Mauricio Cortes, General Manager of International Channel
DestinosTV;
-- Arnoldo Castillo, Singer/Producer;
-- Luis Monje, Music Producer; and
-- Alex Mora, General Manager of Tecapro, together with Otto Rivera,
Executive Director of Costa Rican Chamber of Information Technology
and Communication (CAMTIC).
-------------------------------------------
TRAINING REVEALS THE NEED FOR MORE TRAINING
-------------------------------------------
¶8. (U) By workshop's end, the participants concluded that they
needed to continue working on the bench book draft to ensure that a
practical, finished product be completed. As a result,
post-workshop, the participants requested more training as they
realized that they knew little about prosecuting IPR violations.
With a new enthusiasm towards the subject, plans are underway for
future training sessions.
----------------------------
A PRIVATE SECTOR ROUND TABLE
----------------------------
¶9. (U) The law firm of Arias & Munoz, in conjunction with Embassy
San Jose, held a round table session on June 22, 2009 (the day prior
to the workshop) at the firm's offices. The round table was
designed to encourage private law IPR practitioners by taking
advantage of the presence of the visiting foreign judges. Maria del
Rocio Cerdas Quesada from the College of Lawyers of Costa Rica
presented an entertaining and informative overview of Costa Rican
laws for IPR. The visiting judges and local participants then
followed with a general discussion. The presentation helped set the
tone for the next few days by providing a primer of where IPR law
stands in Costa Rica and the status of enforcement. It also
provided an excellent background for the visiting judges (three of
four participated). Many local lawyers appreciated the presentation
and tagged the seminar as a success.
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SPEAKING OUT ON IPR
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¶10. (U) Federal Trade Commission attorney Armando Irizarry participated
in a multi-purpose Econ-Public Affairs speaker program on IPR.
Irizarry, on TDY in Honduras to assist with competitiveness in the
CAFTA-DR countries, presented programs to three different audiences
June 29-30 and July 1, in San Jose. On June 29, he offered an IPR
overview to students at the University of Costa Rica, and later
presided over a discussion with CANARA (National Chamber of Radio).
On June 30, he addressed a larger and more diverse group at the
National Assembly, where Deputy Fernando Sanchez (Liberacion) and
Embassy San Jose Econ Chief Mark Kissel introduced Irizarry and
underscored the importance of his message. The Assembly
presentation was followed by another discussion with a select
private sector group hosted by AmCham. On July 1, Irizarry directed
his IPR presentation to the theatrical community in Costa Rica,
addressing the often complex process of obtaining rights as an
integral part of mounting artistic productions. Irizarry was well
received by all three audiences. However, Post realized that
presenting "advanced sessions" on IPR requires more upfront planning
and will work this into future programming.
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NEXT STEPS
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¶11. (U) There are five important "next steps" that will continue the
work of the three-day workshop. First, the bench book exists in
draft form which will be refined and updated. The Judicial School
proposed an electronic forum to facilitate communication among
judges for editing and revising the bench book and sharing ideas,
information, and concerns on IPR. Second, the bench book will be
completed and distributed throughout Costa Rica. Third, the
Judicial School will present several IPR training sessions at the
University of Costa Rica while CAMTIC will work with the Judicial
School to train judges in software licensing and IPR protections.
Fourth, OPDAT's Lipman proposed a study trip to Puerto Rico by four
of the participants and Director Carvajal. Hosted by Judge
Perez-Gimenez, the participants will observe first-hand the judicial
management of IPR cases.
¶12. (SBU) Independent of the above, Embassy San Jose needs to
develop the fifth step for the private sector. Criminal and civil
case prosecutions are both important to advancing IPR in Costa Rica.
Though we do not have a specific plan at the moment, we will work
with key private sector attorneys and associations on the form and
content of future training for this important part of advancing IPR
in Costa Rica. Given the Attorney General's stated focus on higher
priority criminal cases, and the relatively few GOCR resources
dedicated thus far to IPR enforcement and prosecution, private
sector attorneys can play a key role in taking IPR cases to the
court system and pushing them to completion.
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COMMENT
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¶13. (SBU) The "Judicial Exchange" training sessions exceeded the
expectations of all involved, with notable camaraderie formed within
a circle of Costa Rican judges, and between Costa Rica and the U.S.,
on IPR. In addition, Costa Rican judges now have a link with
colleagues in Argentina, El Salvador and Puerto Rico, Latin American
societies that are advancing IPR protection. Though the workshop
was the first phase of in-country training, it complements ongoing
Global Intellectual Property Academy training and serves to expand
the number of Costa Ricans participating in USG IPR training. Our
IPR strategy aims to influence as many decision makers and
practitioners as possible on IPR enforcement and prosecution.
BRENNAN