US embassy cable - 05WARSAW3361

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 003361 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE 
STATE PASS USTR FOR DONNELLY/ERRION 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, PL, Intellectual Property 
SUBJECT: POLAND: Government Announces Antipiracy Strategy 
for 2005 and Beyond 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (U) During the September 13, Council of Ministers meeting 
in Warsaw, the interagency group approved a strategy for 
combating intellectual property rights (IPR) piracy.  The 
report focuses several strategic goals and emphasizes the 
importance of the "public-private sector partnership" to 
achieve a higher level of protection of IPR in Poland. 
Although some elements of the strategy are crosscutting, the 
focus is decidedly on optical disc protection. 
 
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THE STRATEGY 
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2. (U) The report highlights five specific strategic goals: 
 
- to increase the efficiency and to improve the coordination 
of the state authorities' activities (police, border guard, 
customs) in fighting piracy; 
 
- to increase the efficiency of the justice system's 
activities in fighting piracy; 
 
- to draft appropriate changes to the law related to the 
need for improvement in conducting proceedings regarding 
infringements of copyright and neighbouring rights; 
 
- to limit piracy at bazaars and street markets; to increase 
the efficiency of enforcement authorities' actions against 
internet piracy; 
 
- to monitor the activities of public administration 
bodies." 
 
3. (U) In a press release from Ministry of Culture, the 
Minister Waldemar Dabrowski stated that "the capability of a 
state to provide intellectual property protection is one of 
the main indicators of the credibility of this state on the 
international arena. This applies to the political 
dimension, but also to the economic one. This is one of the 
criteria for measuring the given country's attractiveness as 
a host of foreign investment, especially in the field of 
high technology, i.e. the investment which is most desired 
while modernizing the Polish economy. As proved by this 
report, the year 2004 can be perceived as a breakthrough in 
the field of the Polish government's efforts to increase the 
standards of intellectual property." 
 
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THE REALITY 
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4. (SBU) Although Dabrowski is right to note 2004 (as well 
as some enforcement efforts in 2005) as heralding progress 
in Poland's IPR protection regime, there remain significant 
problems.  The thorniest problem, noted in earlier Embassy 
telegrams, remains the bazaars in the western border areas. 
In conversations with Econoff, Marek Staszewski and Jan 
Baldyga of the Union of Audio Video Manufacturers (ZPAV) 
both noted that there have been some significant enforcement 
actions along the border with Germany, specifically in the 
Wroclaw-Goerlitz area.  This includes some significant 
seizures just this past summer (to be reported septel). 
 
5. (SBU) Nonetheless, ZPAV believes that the measures used 
to counter piracy in Warsaw Stadium (surveillance cameras, 
in particular) could also be effective in dealing with the 
"economic tourism" taking place in border markets, where 
primarily German nationals come to buy optical disc media at 
reduced - but not that much reduced, ironically - prices. 
(Note: Baldyga noted pirate DVD prices in the bazaars 
running at about 17 Euros.)  And although the majority of 
the production, according to ZPAV, continues to come from 
Russia via Ukraine (with an upsurge, they claim, in 
smuggling via Lithuania), both Baldyga and Staszewski noted 
with somewhat wry humor that the pirate production line that 
had been seized by Polish authorities early last year in 
Wroclaw, and then "disappeared," remains unrecovered. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6. (SBU) Post continues to work with industry and Polish 
authorities to emphasize greater efforts on the border. 
Before the Special 301 season begins again in earnest, we 
hope to be able to report some ad