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Viewing cable 06RANGOON244, BURMA'S INADEQUATE IPR REGIME

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06RANGOON244 2006-02-22 05:57 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Rangoon
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

220557Z Feb 06
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000244 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND EB/IPE 
DEPT PLEASE ALSO PASS TO USTR: JCHOE-GROVES 
DOC FOR JBOGER, DOC PLEASE PASS TO USPTO AND LOC 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR PGOV SNAR BM
SUBJECT: BURMA'S INADEQUATE IPR REGIME 
 
REF: STATE 14937 
 
1. (U) Burma is, and should remain, on the 2006 Special 
Mention List for Special 301 Review.  Following is an 
update on the current IPR protection situation in Burma. 
 
Overview 
--------- 
2. (U) Burma does not have adequate IPR protection. 
Patent, trademark, and copyright laws and regulations are 
all deficient in both regulation and enforcement.  After 
Burma joined ASEAN in 1997, it agreed to modernize its 
intellectual property laws to comply with the ASEAN Framework 
Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation.  A new and 
comprehensive IPR law, first drafted in 1994, still awaits 
government approval and implementation.  A Committee for IPR 
Implementation, established in July 2004, is working to 
obtain GOB approval of the new law, with assistance from the 
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  The WTO 
postponed required implementation of the TRIPS Agreement for 
Least Developed Nations from 2005 until 2013. 
 
3. (U) The Government of Burma introduced a Patents and 
Design Law in 1946, but never brought it into force.  The 
Indian Patents and Designs Act of 1911, enacted under British 
colonial rule, still governs the registration of all patents 
and designs. 
 
4. (U) The piracy of music CDs, video CDs, CD-ROMS, DVDs, 
books, software, and product designs is evident nationwide, 
especially in border regions and in the major urban centers 
of Mandalay and Rangoon.  Most consumers of IT products in 
Burma, both in the private sector and in government, 
largely rely on pirated software.  Given the poor state of 
the economy, small number of local customers, and lack of 
manufacturing infrastructure (e.g., unreliable electricity 
and supplies, poor transportation networks), piracy does 
not have a significant adverse impact on U.S. products at 
this time. 
 
5. (U) Burma has no trademark law, although trademark 
registration is possible.  Many domestic and international 
firms place caution notices in local newspapers to declare 
ownership of their trademarks.  After publication, the owners 
can in theory take criminal and/or civil action against 
trademark infringers.  Corruption and an untrained judiciary, 
however, severely limit legal options.  Title to a trademark 
depends on use of the trademark in connection with goods sold 
in Burma. 
 
6.  (U) The British colonial government published a Copyright 
Act in 1914, but without any means to register copyrights. 
Since no succeeding government has ever instituted a means to 
register copyrights, there is no legal protection in Burma 
for foreign copyrights. 
 
7. (U) In the absence of effective IPR protection laws, 
local laws such as the Merchandise Marks Act, the Specific 
Relief Act, the Sea Customs Act, and the overall penal code 
provide the only possible protection for intellectual 
property rights. 
 
Government Efforts 
------------------ 
8. (U) To meet the former TRIPS deadline of December 2005, 
Burma began drafting new IP laws, with technical assistance 
from WIPO and WTO.  The draft legislation includes 
trademark, patent, copyright, and industrial design laws. 
As a least developed country member of WTO, Burma is now 
obliged to meet its TRIPS obligations by 2013.  We have 
provided informal guidance from USPTO to assist GOB 
drafting efforts.  The GOB had initially indicated it would 
pass the IPR law in early 2006 and others later.  However, 
the Attorney General now plans to draft all four laws and 
their implementing regulations together before the 2013 
deadline. 
 
9. (U) A Committee for the Implementation of the 
Intellectual Property System, formed in July 2004 and 
chaired by the Prime Minister, guides drafting and 
implementation efforts.  The Committee has twenty-five 
members, including nineteen ministers, the Chief Justice, 
the Attorney General, Rangoon's Mayor, and the President of 
the Chamber of Commerce.  A number of Rangoon workshops has 
assisted the process, including: 
 
-  The WIPO National Seminar on Intellectual Property, 
jointly organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology 
and WIPO, October 22 to 23, 1997; 
 
-  A seminar on the "Legal Implications and Myanmar's 
Obligation to WTO Agreement", co-organized by the National 
AFTA Unit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore and 
the International Trade Institute of Singapore, September 
17 to 19, 2001; 
 
-  A presentation by officials of Attorney General's Office 
on the "Basic Concept of Intellectual Property Rights" at a 
seminar on development of automobile manufacturing 
technology, May 10, 2003; 
 
- A workshop on implementation of agreements on technical 
trade-related copyright co-organized by the Ministry of 
Commerce and WIPO, June 28 to 29, 2004; 
 
-  A workshop on Intellectual Property co-organized by WIPO 
and WTO, February 3 to 4, 2005; 
 
- An Intellectual Property Rights seminar organized by 
WIPO, April 25 to 26, 2005; 
 
-  Presentations by legal consultants on "Intellectual 
Property System and Its Enforcement in Myanmar" and 
"Safeguarding the Trademark, Safeguarding the Venture" at 
the Myanmar Computer Professional Association (MCPA) on 
June 18, 2005; 
 
-  A workshop on Intellectual Property Rights organized by 
WIPO, August 20 to 25, 2005; 
 
-  A seminar on Copyright Protection co-organized by Asian 
Pacific Cultural Center for UNESCO (ACCU) and Myanmar 
Writers and Journalist Association, September 7 to 9, 2005; 
 
-  A workshop conducted by the Myanmar Writers and 
Journalist Association on copyright issues for lawyers, 
writers and publishers on November 3, 2005. 
 
- In addition, the Secretary of the Myanmar Writers and 
Journalists Association, Maung Hsu Shin, is finalizing a 
Burmese version draft of the Asian Copyright Manual for 
distribution in country. 
 
Printed Materials 
----------------- 
10. (SBU) The most obvious infringement of IPR in Burma is 
the reprinting and photocopying of books and other 
publications without permission.  The ruling military 
regime strictly controls public access to information from 
all independent media and information sources, so the unmet 
public demand is great.  All books must be reviewed by 
government censors before publication, and books by local 
writers also need official permission from the Ministry of 
Information to be published.  With no effective means to 
protect copyrights, there is no incentive to obtain the 
legal rights to publish foreign works in Burma.  Importers 
also have difficulty getting permission from the Scrutiny 
Board to import authentic books and magazines.  They are 
required to submit advance copies, apply for import 
licenses (a very lengthy process), and submit the books for 
further review upon arrival.  The authorities censor most 
publications heavily and impose an outright ban on many 
books and other materials, particularly those that make any 
mention of past or current conditions in Burma.  The people 
of Burma remain avid readers, but the only way most are 
able to access outside information is via smuggling, black 
market sales, and illegal photocopying. 
 
CDs, DVDs and Computer Software 
------------------------------- 
11. (SBU) Poor IPR protection of music and films has a 
relatively minor impact in Burma because the market for 
counterfeit goods in this low-income country is very small 
and because inadequate infrastructure (bad roads, expensive 
power supply, unreliable supply) make establishing 
production facilities unattractive.  Most of the limited 
domestic manufacture/trade of counterfeit CDs and DVDs is 
linked to the drug syndicates that operate in areas outside 
of GOB control in the Golden Triangle region of Shan State 
in eastern Burma. 
 
12. (SBU) The everyday use of pirated software throughout 
Burma, however, is widespread.  Local distributors openly 
make copies of the pirated software (primarily brought in 
from Malaysia) using CD writers and then sell the products 
to the public for 40-50 cents per CD.  Two factories 
manufacture blank CDs, one in Rangoon (run by Sony 
representative TMW Co.) and one in central Burma run by a 
Sino-Burmese company.  The two factories produce rewritable 
blank CDs and local music CDs and VCDs.  The demand for 
computer software in Burma is too low for mass production; 
demand can be met individually by using CD Writer programs. 
Most legal and pirated entertainment CDs, VCDs, and DVDs 
come into Burma from China.  Chinese quality is better, and 
it is considered cheaper to import Chinese products than to 
reproduce them locally. 
 
13. (U) Government offices are required to use legal 
software on any projects for international organizations, 
such as the UN and JICA.  Since there is no authorized 
dealer for computer software in Burma, there is little 
incentive to buy legal software (through an agent who 
purchases it from Singapore).  Owners of the legal product 
face further challenges in getting regular legal updates 
from Singapore (which requires additional payments to the 
agent).  Most notebook computers sold in Burma come with 
legal software pre-installed by the manufacturers.  Until 
avenues for legal software purchase appear in Burma, most 
computer users in Burma will continue to rely on the 
illegal copies and the black market to meet their minimal 
IT needs. 
 
Villarosa