US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA3114

UNCLAS OTTAWA 003114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USPTO FOR D. LASHLEY-JOHNSON AND AMY COTTON; 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR DANIEL MULLANEY; 
STATE PASS TO USDA FOR FAS/ITP/MTND/JOANHURST 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, EAGR, ECON, ETRD, WTO 
SUBJECT: OTTAWA OUTREACH EVENT ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS 
AND WTO 
 
REF: SECSTATE 180474 
 
1.  Summary:  Embassy Ottawa's October 14th outreach event on 
WTO and Geographical Indications (GI) was hosted by FAS and 
Econ and attended by officials from International Trade 
Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Industry Canada, 
and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.  The Canadian 
attendees emphasized that the USG and GOC are "on the same 
page and on the same side" on the subject of GIs, and a 
number of attendees mentioned ongoing close cooperation with 
USG officials in Washington.  Comments on the Canadian 
response to the content of the DVD and talking points are 
provided in paragraph 2. The informational DVD was 
well-received, with attendees offering specific comments 
listed in paragraph 3. 
 
2.  GOC attendees could think of no major differences between 
the Canadian and U.S. views on the GI issue, restating the 
GOC position of being opposed to clawback and opposed to 
inclusion of GIs in WTO Agriculture Negotiations in general. 
They stated that they see little international support for 
the EU position on clawback, but that they do think some 
developing countries view extension as "their type of 
clawback", sometimes based on only one product.  They suggest 
that there is room to influence world opinion if Canada and 
the United States can show developing countries that our 
system will work for them: the discussion of collective marks 
on the DVD was seen as one effective example.  Both 
Agriculture and International Trade officials mentioned that 
the potential costs of GIs, as highlighted by the Grocery 
Manufacturers Association spokeswoman on the DVD, could be a 
particularly useful point in outreach to developing nations, 
as it provides context to the EU's emphasis on GI's benefits. 
 One Agriculture official suggested that specific examples of 
potential repackaging and rebranding costs for developing 
countries' manufacturers would be especially useful. 
 
3.  The GOC officials were impressed with the DVD and thought 
it hit the right level of technicality for most of the world 
audience.  They did suggest, however, that a slightly more 
technical version (going into the finer points of the 
registry system for wine and spirits, for example) might be 
useful for some audiences.  The DVD also received compliments 
on its structure, with one official stating that the "three 
myths" approach was particularly useful because those myths 
are what they hear all the time in attacks on the U.S. and 
Canadian stance on GIs. 
 
4.  Finally, the GOC officials gave a brief rundown of world 
players' campaigns on GIs, stating that Australia is working 
hard to get its message across and describing how the EU is 
offering workshops throughout SE Asia to promote its position 
on GIs.  An Agriculture and Agri-Foods official suggested 
that it might be useful for Canada and the United States to 
work together to gain international support, possibly by 
organizing similar workshops for local businesses and 
officials. 
 
5.  ACTION REQUEST:  We have offered to provide the talking 
points in French to GOC officials as soon as they are 
available from Washington.  Please send them to Elizabeth 
Mader, madere@state.gov. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS