US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3307

UNCLAS TAIPEI 003307 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EB/IPC, STATE PASS AIT/W, USPTO 
AND USTR, USTR FOR WINELAND AND WINTERS, USDOC FOR 
4431/TIA/MAC/AP/OPB/TAIWAN/MBMORGAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, TW, Trade 
SUBJECT: TAIWAN CUSTOMS PLAYING NINTENDO'S GAME 
 
REF: TAIPEI 936 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  In response to a request for equipment for 
use by Taiwan Customs to detect shipments of counterfeit 
entertainment software, Nintendo North America (NA) provided 
16 Nintendo game systems to be used by Customs officials at 
Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS) International Airport.  The donated 
game systems covered every type of existing Nintendo game 
currently in production.   Nintendo NA's Taiwan 
representative, Arthur Shay, from the Taipei law-firm 
EliteLaw, delivered a 60 minute training session on August 5 
to approximately 20 Taiwan Customs officials.  The session 
focused on how to use the game systems to identify 
counterfeit game cartridges.  Officials were less interested 
in learning how to use the game equipment than in the proper 
standard operating procedures if the results of their 
inspections were inconclusive.  Shay committed to personally 
inspect any product that was of dubious origin and if still 
uncertain to forward it to Nintendo NA for additional 
inspection.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) Nintendo NA was the most vocal opponent of Taiwan's 
decision to abolish its Export Monitoring System (EMS) on 
January 1, 2005.  With only one seizure in the previous three 
years, Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) believed 
the EMS' annual US$1 million budget could be better spent 
supporting additional efforts to control internet piracy and 
proposed transferring the responsibility to monitor Taiwan 
exports of computer game software and hardware to Taiwan 
Customs.  Nintendo NA was concerned that Taiwan Customs 
lacked the training and dedication to effectively prevent 
export or transshipment of counterfeit Nintendo products. 
Nintendo NA was particularly concerned that Taiwan Customs 
had declined to take custody of equipment used by EMS to 
inspect suspect counterfeit goods.  For its part, Taiwan 
Customs officials complained that the EMS equipment was 
cumbersome to use and out of date.  In March 2005, Nintendo 
agreed to provide training as needed for Taiwan Customs 
officials as well as 8 new hand-held testing devices. 
Training took place at the end of March, but the promised 
equipment was slow to arrive. 
 
3.  (U) After meeting with AIT Econoff at Nintendo NA 
headquarters in Redmond, Washington, in mid-May, Nintendo NA 
finally supplied 16 games systems for use by Taiwan Customs. 
EliteLaw partner Arthur Shay conducted a training session for 
approximately 20 Customs officials on August 5 at the CKS 
Airport Customs offices.  Participants were instructed on 
physical and software security features of genuine Nintendo 
products and given demonstrations of tell-tale signs of fake 
products. 
 
4.  (U) Participants were less interested in the game systems 
than they were in establishing the proper standard operating 
procedure when they were unable to determine from visual 
inspection whether the goods in question were genuine.  Shay 
volunteered that he or his staff would be available at any 
time to assist in determining whether a product was 
counterfeit and if unable to make a determination, would 
immediately forward the sample in question to Nintendo NA 
headquarters for verification. 
 
5.  (U) Comment: Nintendo NA's delivery of this equipment 
should help to improve relations between the company and 
officials, testy after months of Nintendo complaints about 
Customs efficiency and dedication, and may even help Taiwan 
Customs to better detect counterfeit Nintendo products.  But 
this equipment does nothing to assist officials in 
determining the authenticity of partially assembled circuit 
boards and chip assemblies, the latest technique favored by 
producers of counterfeit games.  Nintendo NA is aware of this 
new form of evading detection, but to date has no answers for 
those trying to counter the counterfeiters.  In this game, 
law enforcement is still playing from behind.  End Comment. 
PAAL