US embassy cable - 04MADRID639

UNCLAS MADRID 000639 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EB/TPP/MTA/IPC 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR BURKEY AND SANFORD 
COMMERCE FOR DONALD CALVERT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, ECON, SP 
SUBJECT: IPR Crimes: The Impact of Spain's Penal Code Reform 
 
 
1. Summary.  On November 25, 2003, the Government of Spain 
modified its Penal Code to reinforce intellectual and 
industrial property protection.  The revised Spanish Penal 
Code increases the punishments for crimes against 
intellectual property and copyright infringements, 
especially for repeat offenders.  It will enter into force 
on October 1, 2004.  End Summary. 
 
2. Organic Law 15/2003 of November 25, 2003 modifies Organic 
Law 10/1995 of the Penal Code.  While the reform affects a 
wide range of crimes and penalties, for the purpose of this 
cable we are focusing only on Penal Code changes to 
intellectual property (IP) crimes.  Overall, the reform 
modifies the penalties to take into account current social 
trends, including high unemployment, increased internet 
piracy, and the use of minors and immigrants to commit IP 
crimes. 
 
3. The highlights of the new Penal Code are as follows: 
 
A) Sentences will be harsher.  Persons convicted of piracy 
can be now given jail sentences between six months and two 
years in addition to "penalties" which include probation 
ranging from one to two years.  Time served will be 
cumulative. 
 
B) The production, introduction, importation, possession or 
distribution of computer programs or any other tool 
specifically dedicated to counterfeiting copyrighted 
property will be considered a crime. 
 
C) Police will be allowed to seize pirated products and the 
instruments and assets used to commit the offense, in 
addition to the ill-gotten gains from their illegal sale. 
 
D) Facilitating or supplying illegal access to cable or pay- 
TV (or other electronic media) can be punished by jail 
sentences of six months to two years. 
 
E) Penalties will be stiffer if organized crime plays a role 
in the IP crime or if minors under 18 years old are 
involved.  This is an attempt to more effectively fight the 
mafias that control this lucrative business, the majority of 
whose members are foreigners, and to protect minors who have 
in the past been used as a front for these groups. 
 
F) Whereas the 1995 Penal Code required that a victim or 
aggrieved party (in the case of piracy, the copyright 
holder) notify police about a crime being committed, now the 
police can pursue IP criminals without such notification -- 
an important step forward in combating elusive street 
sellers of pirated goods, known here as "manteros." 
 
MANZANARES