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Viewing cable 06RIGA857, Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review Recommendation: Latvia

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06RIGA857 2006-10-19 14:25 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Riga
VZCZCXYZ0013
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRA #0857/01 2921425
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191425Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY RIGA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3456
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS RIGA 000857 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USTR FOR JENNIFER GROVES, CARROLL COLLEY, RACHEL BAE 
COMMERCE FOR CATHERINE PETERS 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/IPE JENNIFER BOGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD KIPR ECON LG
SUBJECT: Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review Recommendation: Latvia 
 
REF: 1) STATE 149667, 2) STATE 66966 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: Latvia's performance since April 2006 on 
IPR-related issues shows continued improvement in the number of 
police raids conducted, amount of goods seized or destroyed, and IPR 
cases brought to prosecution.  However, Latvia has not shown 
improvement in a number of areas that were highlighted in the 2006 
Special 301 Report Notification, the most notable of which is the 
failure to implement penalties that would act as a deterrent to IPR 
crimes.  While applauding Latvian advances, Post recommends that 
Latvia remain on the Special 301 Watch List for the upcoming cycle. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Pol-Econ Off received from the MFA copies of Latvia's 
submission to the USTR for the current Special 301 Out-of-Cycle 
Review.  The Latvian government notes improvement in the first six 
to eight months of 2006 in the seizure of IPR-infringing material (5 
million EUR worth in the first half of 2006, compared to 7 million 
EUR in all of 2005), the number of police raids per week (up from 3 
per week in 2005, to 6-8 weekly this year), criminal cases initiated 
(92 cases to date this year, compared to 53 last year), and cases 
submitted to the Prosecutor's Office (32 in 2006, 19 in 2005). 
 
3. (SBU) Additionally, the Justice Ministry's Deputy State 
Secretary, Laila Medin, stated that the government has presented to 
 
SIPDIS 
the Saeima (Parliament) amendments to the Civil Procedure Code and 
the Copyright Law that bring Latvian laws into compliance with EU 
directives on IPR protection and introduce civil ex parte search 
orders. She said the Saeima has not passed these revisions due to 
the recent elections, but should address the changes when the new 
Saeima is seated.  Changes to these laws were mentioned as a goal 
for Latvia in the 2006 Special 301 Notification cable (reftel 2). 
 
 
4. (SBU) However, in the Out-of Cycle Review period since April 
2006, Latvia has shown little improvement in several key areas 
highlighted in Latvia's 2006 Special 301 Notification cable; namely 
deterrent sentencing, speed of judicial proceedings and prevention 
of internet-based copyright violations.  The most notable 
short-coming is the continued lack of deterrent sentencing for IPR 
crimes.  The Latvian government's submission to the USTR notes 14 
convictions in the first 7 months of 2006, but none of these 
involved jail time for offenders.  The 14 convictions resulted in 9 
fines, 4 community service penalties and one suspended sentence. 
One industry group, The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights 
(CIPR), stated that the statistics of the Latvian Prosecutor General 
Office shows that Latvian courts typically sentence offenders to 
only about one-tenth of the maximum fine that is allowed by law, and 
that to CIPR's knowledge, no defendant has ever received a prison 
sentence. 
 
5. (SBU) The MFA's lead on IPR issues, Under Secretary of State 
Maija Monika, told Pol-Econ Off that she also is not aware of any 
IPR offender being sentenced to jail.  She attributed this to the 
fact that IPR crimes are not viewed in Latvian society as serious 
offenses, and that judges reflect that common societal view when 
handing down sentences. 
 
6. (SBU) Medin responded to the sentencing issue saying that the 
Justice Ministry is concerned that jail sentences may not be 
appropriate for many IPR offenders, as inmates often deepen their 
connection to criminal activities during times in prison.  She said 
the Justice Ministry feels that community service or fines can be 
more effective in punishing IPR violations without putting the 
offender in a prison setting.  Medin did not immediately have 
information on how much IPR offenders are currently fined or how 
many hours of community service they are sentenced to, though she 
will try to obtain such figures.  Medin stated that the Justice 
Ministry's future sentencing goal would be to use a combination of 
jail time and probation, but such sentencing would require 
legislative changes (they can currently choose jail time or 
probation, but not a combination of the two) and may take two years 
to implement.  When asked if she felt the sentencing in Latvia was a 
deterrent to IPR crimes, she stated that it is too early to tell, as 
the federal probation system is only three years old, with probation 
previously being handled at a municipal level.  When asked if the 
judiciary views IPR crimes as serious, she replied yes, but added 
that that judges are in need of further training on the nature of 
IPR violations.  Comment: It would be beneficial for Post and USTR 
to explore if there is an appropriate means/venue for the USG to 
assist in such judicial training. 
 
7. (SBU) The 2006 Special 301 notification cable for Latvia also 
encouraged the GOL to improve the speed of judicial proceedings on 
IPR violations.  CIPR states that law enforcement investigations 
remain slow, with cases of illegal factories manufacturing 
counterfeit cigarettes that are still technically under 
investigation since 2001.  Medin said she will investigate if the 
Justice Ministry has statistics on the average length of 
prosecutions.  CIPR also notes that the Economic Police lack 
essential equipment and internet access needed to prevent 
internet-based copyright violations, an area noted as in need of 
improvement in the 2006 Special 301 report notification. 
 
8. (SBU) While applauding Latvia's improvements in seizures of goods 
and in initiating IPR-related criminal cases, the failure to 
implement deterrent sentencing that would clearly meet Latvia's 
TRIPS obligation is a continuing area of concern.  Until the GOL can 
demonstrate that the current system of fines and community service 
contributes to creating an environment which reduces IPR violations, 
Post recommends that Latvia remain on the Special 301 Watch List for 
the upcoming cycle.  We believe it is also important to note that 
the lack of deterrent sentencing in the IPR area also reflects a 
more generalized problem in the Latvian approach to law 
enforcement/prosecution, where suspended sentences, probation and 
small fines, as opposed to prison sentences, are common practice. 
The current shortcomings in the IPR arena thus reflect broader 
challenges to strengthening rule of law in Latvia's still young 
democracy. 
 
 
BAILEY