US embassy cable - 05AMMAN1697

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001697 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2015 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, PREL, KTIA, JO 
SUBJECT: SUCCESS WITH JORDAN COPYRIGHT LAW, CENSORSHIP 
FEES, IPR CONFERENCE 
 
REF: A. 04 AMMAN 6508 
 
     B. 04 AMMAN 2574 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: CDA DAVID HALE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Jordan's parliament has approved 
new copyright legislation, and we expect King 
Abdullah to sign it into law soon.  Censorship fees 
(ref A) are also reportedly to be restructured shortly, 
using a formula acceptable to key IPR supporters in 
private industry.  Finally, a MEPI-sponsored conference 
held by the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) 
successfully brought together ten Arab nations to work 
on IPR enforcement.  These three accomplishments, 
combined with a program to enhance IPR awareness among 
officials and the public, mark a major step forward for 
intellectual property rights in Jordan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Copyright Law Proponents Overcome "Traditional" Lobbyists 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Since parliament reconvened December 1, GOJ 
officials had had to manage the passage of copyright law 
amendments through the lower and upper houses and back to 
the lower house for final agreement, according to National 
Library Director Mahmoun Talhouni.  (NOTE: The National 
Library is the GOJ focal point on IPR issues and the 
location of an IPR enforcement unit.  END NOTE)  The final 
hurdle was passed Feb 15, after a mischievous clause on 
"commercial use" was finally stripped from the amendments 
package, which the lower house accepted, Talhouni said. 
The legislation will now be forwarded to the King for his 
signature and will become law 30 days after its publication 
in the official gazette. 
 
3.  (C) COMMENT: Embassy through repeated queries and 
letters to the Prime Minister and two successive GOJ 
Industry and Trade ministers, the Justice Minister and the 
Culture Minister, had urged speedy passage of these 
copyright amendments.  The new copyright law is the result 
of a few dedicated GOJ officials fighting against a voluble 
group of pirates with vested interests.  When the copyright 
amendments were first discussed last June, the government 
was pilloried by MPs for several days (widely covered in 
the Arabic press) because of its right under the law to 
enter any premises in Jordan to investigate IPR violations. 
According to knowledgeable sources, it was those store 
owners who stock pirated DVDs and software who led the 
charge last summer, making private appeals to their 
parliamentary representatives and orchestrating the press 
campaign.  The Islamic Action Front also emphasized the 
effect of the improved copyright law on the "little guy." 
Facing these political obstacles, GOJ officials from the 
Trade Minister to the Justice Minister to the National 
Library Director, did not raise the proposed amendments' 
compliance with the Free Trade Agreement, but rather 
referred to international commitments and the general 
principle of IPR protections.  END COMMENT. 
 
Censorship Fees to be Revamped 
------------------------------ 
 
4.  (SBU) The high censorship fees imposed by the GOJ last 
April, which only encouraged more piracy (ref A), will be 
reduced dramatically,  according to key industry 
sources and the Jordan Intellectual Property Association 
(JIPA).  At mid-February, JIPA's Murad Bushnaq (who is a 
leading distributor of Time-Warner products in Jordan) 
noted that he had positive talks about fee reductions with 
the head of the agency imposing censorship fees, Mr. 
Hussein Bani-Hani of the Audiovisual Commission.  While the 
issue had not been finally settled, Bushnaq said the AV 
commission would have a fixed-fee structure that he 
described as an "excellent resolution."  The fee would be 
tiered by the volume of the DVDs or audiocassettes, he said, 
noting the fee could range from three dinars to a maximum of 
30 dinars for a single title.  Under the old percentage 
system, there was no upper limit;  for example, a shipment 
of 1000 DVDs would have cost a censorship fee of more than 
USD $850. 
 
5.  (C) Bani-Hani is reportedly still consulting with 
industry leaders and other government officials.  According 
to Talhouni, an Investment Committee of the cabinet was 
helpful in pushing this issue along.  (COMMENT:  Charge 
raised this issue with the Ministers of Culture, Finance, 
and Industry and Trade, following up with a letter, and 
Emboffs had called on Bani-Hani to reiterate the importance 
of rationalizing censorship fees.  END COMMENT.) 
 
MEPI-supported IPR Conference; Public Awareness Campaign 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
6.  (SBU) A USPTO-sponsored regional conference on border 
enforcement of IPR, held in Amman February 15-16 was 
praised by the JIPA chief operating officer who attended 
the conference.  Customs officials from ten Arab nations 
attended, including ten Jordanian enforcement officials. 
A number of presenters from the private sector -- either 
affected industries or attorneys -- also attended.  The 
JIPA representative said that the public-private mix 
sparked lively debates and constructive suggestions on 
the best way forward with IPR enforcement.  Nine other 
nations -- from Morocco to Oman -- turned to Jordan to 
explain its experience in IPR enforcement, she noted. 
In addition to National Customs and Aqaba Special Zone 
customs officials, GOJ representation included the 
National Library enforcement team and the Customs 
Anti-Smuggling Unit. 
 
7.  (SBU) National Library Director Talhouni noted that he 
would soon be working full tilt on an IPR public awareness 
campaign with the USAID-funded Achievement of 
Market-Friendly Initiatives and Results Program (AMIR) 
program.  He was hoping to recruit more of the writers, 
artists, and musicians who remained silent during the 
parliamentary debate on the copyright law, he said.  Part 
of the problem was Jordanian technical experts' inability 
to communicate clearly with even educated generalists, he 
noted: one parliamentary committee declined to approve 
protections of "audio digital" transmissions of 
performances because the members did not know what the term 
meant.  After Talhouni produced an audio engineer to 
explain, the amendment passed.  The public awareness 
campaign Talhouni is launching also includes workshops and 
seminars for the legal and judicial community, many under 
the sponsorship of USAID.  Additionally, USAID has signed 
an interagency agreement with the USPTO for direct 
technical assistance in IPR enforcement. 
 
Jordan IPR Protections Strengthened 
----------------------------------- 
 
8.  (SBU) COMMENT: Between success in parliament and in 
reversing fees harmful to IPR, and with the increasing 
influence of market-friendly groups such as the Investment 
Committee, the GOJ is demonstrating a strong commitment to 
IPR protections, even in the face of lobbyists for the old 
ways of doing things.   Jordan also continues to support 
IPR efforts at the regional level.  Next steps here include 
concentrating on implementing patents and trademarks 
conventions - the  AMIR program has devised a program this 
spring to enhance those measures.  In addition, Jordan is 
sending four officials from its Patents and Marks Office to 
the USPTO Visiting Scholars workshop this April. 
HALE