US embassy cable - 04MANAMA249

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000249 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EB/ICP WILSON 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/REA AND NEA/ENA:ACUTRONA 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USTR BPECK, DOC KSCHLEGELMILCH, USPTO 
JURBAN/DLASHLEY-JOHNSON, AND LOC STEPP 
CAIRO FOR STEVE BONDY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, ECON, BA 
SUBJECT: YEAR 2004 SPECIAL 301 INPUT: BAHRAIN'S PROGRESS 
 
REF: STATE 29549 
 
1. SUMMARY: In 2003, Bahrain sustained a strong anti-piracy 
policy, seizing nearly 468,000 audiovisual products, mostly 
DVDs. The GOB legalized its Microsoft software and is now 
purchasing, rather than illegally copying, additional 
software products. Bahrain is holding up enactment of eight 
draft IPR laws that bring the country into TRIPS compliance 
so the laws can be brought into conformity with FTA 
requirements.  Legislation to implement WIPO Copyright (WCT) 
and Performances and Phonograms (WPPT) treaties is pending in 
Parliament. END SUMMARY. 
 
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Enforcement of optical media piracy regulations still strong 
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2. Optical media piracy in Bahrain is not homegrown, Jamal 
Dawood Salman, Ministry of Information's Director of 
Publications and Press, told ECONOFF February 16.  Salman 
said pirated DVDs and CDs mainly enter Bahrain from the Far 
East, primarily from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia; 
parallel imports of Zone 1 products occur principally through 
direct sales from the United States, or are brought acoss the 
Causeway from Saudi Arabia.  The proportion of pirated items 
seized at the border is increasing relative to those found 
during shop raids, Salman said, because fewer illegal 
products are making it to the shelves. 
 
3. The Directorate performs 550 shop raids per year.  During 
2003, Salman's office confiscated 467,820 illegal audiovisual 
items and destroyed 33,730 of these (NOTE: Parallel imports, 
e.g., Zone 1 DVDs, often purchased via the internet, are 
generally returned to sender. END NOTE).  The Directorate is 
working in conjunction with the Motion Picture Association, 
directly with studios such as Warner Brothers, Disney, and 
Paramount, and with the Arabian Anti-piracy Alliance to 
improve detection and stem the flow of pirated products into 
Bahrain.  COMMENT: Making Bahrain a Zone 1 movie outlet would 
substantially reduce Bahrain's parallel import problem.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
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Government software legalized 
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4. Through an October 5, 2003 MOU with Microsoft, the GOB 
legalized all its Microsoft software.  The agreement is 
designed to keep the GOB legal by offering new releases, 
technical support, training and special incentives for 
schools and students.  February 16, Bahrain Microsoft 
Business Development Manager Samir Benmakhlouf told ECONOFF 
that GOB desktops were "clean", i.e., free from illegal 
software, and that the ministries were buying (rather than 
illegally copying) additional products.  He said that the GOB 
is complying fully with the MOU and its commitment to IPR 
protection. 
 
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Proposed IPR legislation under review for TRIPS and FTA 
compliance 
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5. Bahrain is serious about developing quality intellectual 
property protection legislation, Jameel Al Alawi, Director of 
Agreements and Treaties, Directorate of Legal Affairs told 
ECONOFF February 16.  Within the last year, he said, the 
Bahraini Parliament passed three IP laws: Trade Secrets, 
Geographical Indicators, and Patents.  The Trademarks law is 
with the parliament, ready for a vote.  The Copyright law 
received cabinet approval, but now the Cabinet is modifying 
it to fulfill anticipated FTA obligations.  The Cabinet is 
currently studying Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, and 
Industrial Design drafts.  In addition, the UPOV treaty on 
plant varieties is under review at the cabinet. 
 
6. Al Alawi told ECONOFF February 16 that Legal Affairs is 
holding back the new intellectual property laws designed to 
bring Bahrain's regulatory system into TRIPS compliance to 
assure that they also conform to negotiated FTA requirements 
and will not need to be amended.  To that end, the Legal 
Affairs Directorate has provided English translations of 
these (draft) laws to the USG for study by appropriate 
agencies. 
 
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WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), WIPO Performances and Phonograms 
Treaty (WPPT) accessions soon 
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7. Legislation supporting the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and 
the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) has been 
passed by the cabinet and parliamentary committees and is 
currently with the Council of Representatives (the elected 
house of Bahrain's National Assembly).  Jameel Al Alawi, 
Director of Agreements and Treaties, Directorate of Legal 
Affairs told ECONOFF February 16 that he expects this 
legislation to pass once parliament reconvenes, within the 
next few weeks. 
FORD