US embassy cable - 05PARIS1307

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001307 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR (JSANFORD) 
COMMERCE PAS TO USPTO 
STATE FOR EB/IPC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, FR 
SUBJECT: FRANCE: 2005 SPECIAL 3001 REVIEW 
 
REF: STATE 30875 
 
1. (U)  Per reftel, post has reviewed intellectual property 
rights protection in France, focusing most recently on piracy 
of optical media, GOF efforts to prevent unauthorized 
procurement and/or use of software, and compliance with TRIPS 
obligations.  Post provided reftel points and industry 
comments to the Finance Ministry's Directorate of the 
Treasury and Economic Policy and has solicited comment. 
 
2. (U) Combating piracy and intellectual property theft has 
become an important priority for the French government in 
2004.  In their 2005 Special 301 submissions, neither the 
International Intellectual Property Alliance nor the 
International Anticounterfeiting Coalition identifies France 
among countries where IPR problems merit USG action. However, 
comments were received from the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers 
association of America (PHRMA) as well as BIO, the 
Biotechnologies Industry Organization. 
 
3. (U)  In June 2004, the French government launched a major 
initiative to fight piracy and counterfeiting, reported 
previously.   The initiative, which has been well coordinated 
with industry, focuses on improved domestic customs 
enforcement and increased international cooperation, within 
the EU and with third countries.  The plan, unveiled by 
then-Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy (and dubbed the 
"Sarkozy" plan), involves a major public awareness campaign 
as well.  Key industry associations have lined up publicly 
with the government and offered advice and support. 
 
4. (U) Piracy and Counterfeiting: Stepped-up customs training 
and enforcement at airports and borders have resulted in both 
higher seizures of counterfeit goods, and resulted in a 
higher profile for the government in fighting this issue. 
The French government has made highly visible efforts on 
France's land border with Italy, near the Italian coast town 
of Ventimiglia, which the GOF claims is a distribution center 
for pirate goods imported from China.  The GOF has pressed 
this issue with Italian counterparts in bilateral meetings. 
Officials at Charles de Gaulle airport have also seen higher 
cargo seizures in 2004 including pirate pharmaceuticals as 
well as apparel, media and jewelry. 
 
5. (U)  Fighting increased Internet piracy has been 
industry's main focus in 2004, though success has been 
difficult to assess.  The GOF is establishing an 
"observatory" to assess benchmarks and statistical progress 
this year.  Nevertheless, piracy continues to expand at 
alarming rates, as a result of increased broadband 
penetration and the growing popularity of peer-to-peer file 
sharing.  In 2004, the industry association ALPA (Association 
de Lutte Contre la Piratie Audiovisuelle -- Association for 
Combat Against Audiovisual Piracy) reported increased police 
actions against operators of Internet sites, creators of 
Internet portals enabling illegal downloads and other types 
of piracy involving movie file-sharing.  The industry works 
closely with the U.S. Motion Picture Association.  This 
year's efforts have been helped by a closer working 
relationship with Internet Service Providers (ISPs). 
 
6. (SBU) GOF Commitment: After unsuccessfully raising the IPR 
issue at the G-8 Sea Island summit in early 2004, the French 
government launched a national plan against piracy and 
counterfeiting in June of that year.  The effort and 
publicity given to the French government's initiative in 2004 
and 2005 demonstrates the government's commitment to trying 
to resolve or stem the damages resulting from these problems. 
 The GOF and their multipliers have waged a professional 
public campaign, citing revenue (and tax) loss, public safety 
concerns, respect of cultural heritage, and rule of law as 
key elements, with school age and college age segments 
targeted.  Within the European Union, GOF officials say they 
believe France provides leadership on this issue.  GOF 
officials note that neighbors, such as Italy are not as 
forward-leaning on antipiracy issues. 
 
7. (U) While France's traditional luxury good companies such 
as the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet-Hennessey) Group have been 
the most visibly affected by piracy, French officials point 
to other sectors as well, including pharmaceuticals and 
automobile parts.  French officials are equally concerned 
about counterfeiting of French trademarked products such as 
apparel, alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, jewelry, perfume, 
shampoo, sunglasses, purses, toiletries and watches.  The 
French have expressed an interest in cooperating with other 
countries regarding piracy in third countries, such as China 
and Thailand. 
8. (U) EU Biotechnology Directive: the Special 301 submission 
of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) addressed to 
USTR expresses concern about France and eight other EU member 
states which have not yet transposed the Biotechnology 
Directive (98//44/EC) into national law.  Transposition of 
this directive was stopped in 2001 when parliamentary debate 
broke down over Articles 5 and 6, involving ethical aspects 
of human cloning.  The Government has begun consideration of 
a revision of the 1994 bioethics law forbidding human 
cloning.  Government officials expect the Parliament to 
address the transposition of the directive in late 2005. 
 
 
Leach