US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO6415

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 006415 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC PASS USPTO; DEPARTMENT PASS LIBRARY OF COMMERCE FOR 
COPYRIGHT OFFICE; STATE FOR EB - WILSON; WHITE HOUSE PASS 
USTR FOR MALITO, PECK, SOUDER, VARGO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, EINV, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC FAILS TO PRODUCE REPORT ON 
BROADCAST PIRACY 
 
 
- -  CORRECTED COPY ADDING USDOC, USPTO, LOC/COPYRIGHT - - 
 
1.  Note proposed Embassy action, para 9. 
 
2. The Dominican Republic missed an October 5 deadline 
established in a side letter to CAFTA obligating the 
government to report on actions it is taking to stop 
television broadcast piracy.  When the National Office for 
Copyright Protection (ONDA) provided a preliminary copy of 
the late report to the Embassy in November, it failed to 
address the broadcast issue in any detail. 
 
Background 
- - - - - - 
 
3.  Dominican trade negotiations with the United States on 
inclusion in the Central American Free Trade Agreement 
(CAFTA) included a side letter on intellectual property 
rights enforcement that focused specifically on television 
broadcast piracy.  The side letter contains a requirement 
that the Dominican Republic "take all necessary steps to halt 
television broadcasting piracy by licensed broadcasting 
stations and to provide a deterrent to future infringements." 
 The Dominicans promised to provide the United States with a 
written report describing progress in stopping television 
broadcasting piracy, including criminal, administrative and 
civil investigations and actions.   The deadline for the 
first report was October 5, sixty days after CAFTA was 
signed.  Despite the side letter commitments, we see no 
indications that the Dominicans are taking new actions to 
reduce television broadcast piracy. 
 
4.  Embassy contacted various Dominican Government agencies 
prior to the October 5 reporting deadline to urge the 
government would meet its obligation.  EcoPol Counselor and 
Economic Officer met with the Assistant Attorney General 
responsible for IPR issues Pedro Fliz Montes de Oca, 
Undersecretary for Industry and Commerce Marcello Puello, 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Economic 
Affairs Juan Giuliani Cury, and the new Director of the 
National Organization for Copyright Protection (ONDA) Marino 
Feliz Tererro.  At the beginning of October, Feliz told Econ 
Officer that ONDA accepted responsibility for preparing the 
report but since the staff was entirely new since the August 
16 inauguration of the Fernandez administration, he expected 
not to meet the October 5 deadline.  ONDA gave the Embassy an 
advance copy of the preliminary report on November 5, which 
touches only peripherally on broadcast issues.  The report 
instead describes ONDA,s organizational structure and 
documents raids and confiscations of pirated music compact 
discs and cassette tapes.  As of November 5, ONDA Director 
Feliz had not met with any television broadcasting stations 
to address broadcast piracy. 
 
5.  On November 23, EcoPol Counselor and Economic Officer 
discussed illegal television piracy of programs with Jose 
Rafel Vargas, president of INDOTEL, the Dominican Institute 
of Telecommunications. EcoPol counselor later met separately 
with his deputy, Jose Rizek.  Vargas expressed concern over 
the continuing problem of television broadcast piracy but 
said that ONDA, not INDOTEL, is the agency with the authority 
and the responsibility to go after illegal broadcasters. 
Vargas said that INDOTEL had provided resources on at least 
one occasion when ONDA was investigating a case of piracy. 
 
6. Broadcast piracy is nothing new in the Dominican Republic 
but the tough new Dominican copyright legislation, Law 65-00, 
introduced in 2000, was designed to help stop the problem. 
Legal actions taken against violators under the new law have 
been disappointing.  There are two cases that were brought 
before the Dominican courts in 2002 involving television 
channels accused of making illegal broadcasts:  Telemicro and 
Canal del Sol. The stations continue to broadcast.  In 
November of this year, Telemicro (channel 5) aired on late 
night television Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 
To our knowledge, this latest Lord of the Rings movie has not 
yet been released in the United States on cable television 
(HBO has first release rights) and Telemicro,s broadcast is 
illegal. 
7. The public here sees powerful local television stations as 
untouchable by the authorities, an assumption reinforced by 
the fact that illegal broadcasts continue to be a problem.  A 
local attorney and businessmen told economic officer of 
several second-hand accounts of threats and other rough 
treatment of government officials and private individuals 
working to stop illegal broadcasts.  Telemicro, a Dominican 
station previously owned (and possibly still controlled) by 
Hatuey de Camps, former head of the Partido Revolucionario 
Dominicano (PRD), has reportedly used its political influence 
and threats to keep illegal programming on the air.  Local 
press reported that the station was a major supporter of 
President Fernandez in the last campaign, providing free 
airtime for campaign advertising (a credible allegation, 
since renegade Hatuey de Camps openly supported Leonel 
Fernandez against PRD candidate Hipolito Mejia). 
 
8. In addition to Telemicro and Canal del Sol, numerous 
smaller, less well-known stations probably are in violation 
of copyright laws.  VIRUS, a new station carried by the 
second largest cable television provider in Santo Domingo, 
Aster Cable, shows many recent, poorly-dubbed Hollywood 
releases.  The newness of the films, making them high cost, 
does not coincide with the fact that the station almost 
exclusively plays local, low-revenue advertising.  Economic 
Officer asked ONDA to determine whether the station is 
illegally broadcasting movies. 
 
9. Proposed Action:  Unless otherwise instructed, Embassy 
will prepare a diplomatic note referring to the August 5 
agreement by exchange of notes in which Dominican authorities 
undertook to provide the enforcement reports, noting the 
delay and requesting prompt submission. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
10. Even where resources are readily available that would 
help determine whether stations are making illegal 
broadcasts, neither ONDA nor other interested government 
agencies are using them. At least two services in Santo 
Domingo make complete, round-the-clock recordings of all 
broadcasts made by local stations.  While the legal status of 
these services is unclear, the listings of broadcasts are for 
sale and would offer agencies such as ONDA ready information 
to help determine if a station is breaking the law.  More 
than identification of violators is necessary. Without an 
aggressive plaintiff with a vested interest there appears to 
be little likelihood in the short term that cases against 
broadcast pirates will be referred for prosecution or pursued 
with the vigor necessary to convict offenders. 
HERTELL