El por qué el PPSOE nos ha metido la Ley Sinde doblada. (RESUMEN EN CASTELLANO INSIDE))

Se explica el porqué de las prisas del Gobierno y del cambio de parecer del PP.

ID:
194719
Etiquetas:
KIPR, ETRD, ECON, SP
Fecha:
2009-03-02 14:32:00
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 MADRID 000224

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

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SENSITIVE
SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, ECON, SP
SUBJECT: SPECIAL 301 REVIEW: SPAIN

REF: A. STATE 08410
B. 08 MADRID 1351
C. 08 MADRID 1346
D. 08 MADRID 1318
E. 08 MADRID 1257
F. 08 MADRID 1194
G. 08 MADRID 1150 AND PREVIOUS
H. 08 STATE 45107

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION

1. (SBU) Spain was placed on the Special 301 Watch List in
April 2008 primarily due to the government's failure to take
specific, concrete measures to address a growing Internet
piracy problem. One year later, Internet piracy continues to
grow. The government is attempting to address the problem in
several ways - most notably by pressing for results in
negotiations between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and
rights-holders on measures to prevent unauthorized downloads.
Because it does not want to take potentially controversial
action without the agreement of both parties, the government
has not yet initiated any legislative or regulatory measures
to combat digital piracy, pending the conclusion of
negotiations. The government has taken a number of other
steps to discourage piracy and raise public awareness. In
November 2008, the Minister of Culture introduced the
government's third anti-piracy public awareness campaign in
the past four years. In the same month, the Ministry of
Industry, Tourism, and Trade hosted its second annual
conference on IPR in the digital environment, which featured
a USG speaker. Rights-holder groups praised the release by a
GOS inter-agency group of an IPR good practices manual that
includes guidance on investigating and prosecuting IPR
crimes. Notably, the manual emphasizes that unauthorized
peer-to-peer (P2P) downloads are always illegal.

2. (SBU) The government is not investigating or prosecuting
cases of file-sharing or P2P downloading, due in large part
to the 2006 Circular of the Fiscalia (Prosecutor General's
Office) stating that such activity should not be subject to
criminal prosecution but rather treated as a civil violation.
In civil proceedings, investigators are unable to obtain
identifying information from ISPs, making the civil route
unproductive; the government may seek to address this problem
once negotiations are completed. Post is not aware of any
efforts by the government to modify the Circular despite our
efforts. Separately, the Business Software Alliance reports
strong cooperation on the part of the GOS, and Microsoft says
software piracy levels declined in 2008. Rights-holders
praise the ongoing work of the National Police and Civil
Guard in combating street piracy at the national level but
note that Internet piracy is now a more important problem.
Separately, police actions against informal street sellers
have come under growing public criticism, and a movement to
decriminalize such street sales has garnered media and
Congressional attention.

3. (SBU) Recommendation: As described above, the GOS is
acting against piracy in a number of significant ways.
However, most observers agree that Internet piracy will
continue to flourish until the ISPs and the GOS agree to
regulatory and possibly legislative actions. Post believes
the private-sector negotiations will eventually produce an
agreement that the government will then assist in
implementing, but it is not clear whether this will happen in
the next few months. For this reason, post recommends
keeping Spain on the Watch List. End Summary and
Recommendation.

4. (SBU) Intellectual property rights policy in Spain is the
province of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade and
the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Interior (which
oversees the National Police and Civil Guard) and the
Ministry of Justice (of which the Fiscalia is an independent
branch) are responsible for enforcement. Within the Ministry
of Industry, Tourism, and Trade, the Office of Patents and
Trademarks manages industrial property issues and receives
high marks from industry representatives for its
professionalism. The Ministry of Culture has the lead on
copyright issues in tandem with the Ministry of Industry,
Tourism, and Trade's Secretariat of State for
Telecommunications and the Information Society. The Minister

MADRID 00000224 002.2 OF 006

of Culture chairs an Inter-Sectoral Committee created in 2005
to implement the national anti-piracy plan and has been
perhaps the most visible public figure speaking in defense of
improving Spain's IPR enforcement. Rights-holders give the
Ministry of Culture credit for his understanding of the
problem and strong desire to fix it, but lament the
Ministry's lack of resources and clout. The government has
not centralized coordination of the fight against Internet
piracy; however, a lack of coordination is less an issue than
deficiencies in the legal regime.

INTERNET PIRACY - GOVERNMENT PUSHES PRIVATE SECTOR
NEGOTIATIONS

5. (SBU) At the urging of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism,
and Trade, Redtel, the association comprising Spain's four
largest ISPs (Telefonica, Orange, Vodaphone, Ono), began in
May 2008 to meet with the Anti-Piracy Coalition, which
represents the film, music, and video games industries and
copyright management societies, to discuss ways to combat
internet piracy. After extensive discussions and exchanges
of information, it was not until late September that Redtel
made its initial proposal for the creation of a new
government commisssion to hear complaints of digital
copyright infringement and send notifications to alleged
violators. Content providers deemed Redtel's proposal
problematic in various respects - cumbersome, potentially
unworkable, not far-reaching enough - and had concerns as
well about the cost burdens, but accepted it as a basis for
further discussions. The parties have continued to meet, and
all agree the talks are serious and are advancing, albeit
slowly and with occasional steps back. The Minister of
Industry, Tourism, and Trade, Miguel Sebastian, called for
the parties to present to the government by December 31 a
document listing their areas of agreement and disagreement,
but they failed to meet this deadline. The new target date
is the first week of March, at which time the government
hopes to make a public announcement.

6. (SBU) Rights-holders groups advise that any decision
reached by that date will be general in nature, with many
details remaining to be worked out. The two sides and their
lawyers are reportedly far apart on the legal measures that
will be required to implement any such agreement, with the
content providers arguing that a Ministerial decree may be
sufficient while the ISPs have suggested that four or five
laws may need to be amended, a process that would take at
least two years and probably longer. Progress on adopting a
framework to make some content legally available online has
been mixed, with the Redtel pushing hard for access to more
music and especially films than the rights-holders are
prepared to make available. While rights-holders frequently
complain about the slow pace of negotiations and about
Redtel's tactics, and several have at one time or another
threatened to pull out, the parties appear interested in
reaching agreement, though the early March deadline may be
unrealistic. The GOS would prefer that the two sides reach
agreement on as many aspects as possible, and one official
has privately expressed concern that they may put forward two
different proposals, requiring the government to act as
broker.

7. (SBU) It should be noted that differing priorities and
interests among the rights-holders' groups that comprise the
Coalition have complicated the negotiations. The music and
film industries, for example, are at odds over Redtel's
insistence that penalties for repeat offenders will not
include suspension or cancellation of Internet services. The
Music Producers of Spain contend that the threat to cut off
repeat violators must be an option, even if rarely exercised,
for the system to work. The Motion Picture Association and
its local allies believe there are alternative sanctions,
such as a significant reduction in bandwidth, that would be
sufficient to deter recidivists.

8. (SBU) The government, for its part, has pushed the
parties to continue to negotiate and has promised to assist
in implementing any agreement once the parties agree on what
regulatory/legislative changes are needed. It remains
reluctant to propose any legislative or regulatory measures
that are not fully supported by the private sector, believing
that any such initiatives would be unpopular and unlikely to
succeed. As a result, several legal obstacles to effective
IPR protection that the USG has urged the government to

MADRID 00000224 003.2 OF 006

modify - e.g., the "actual knowledge" standard for ISP
liability, the prohibition against identifying alleged
infringers in the context of civil litigation - remain in
place. The government says it has prepared a number of
possible legislative proposals, depending on what service
providers and rights-holders agree to. The government, like
most rights-holders, is hopeful that relatively few, modest
legal changes may be sufficient.

9. (SBU) Industry figures show that between July 2007 and
June 2008, there were 1.9 billion music downloads, of which 4
percent were from legal, paid services, and 250,000 film
downloads, of which 2 percent were legal and paid, Cynics
among the rights-holders assert that the government's posture
actually gives the ISPs an incentive to negotiate slowly,
since an agreement could trigger government actions that the
service providers would prefer to delay as long as possible.
In pushing the parties to reach agreement, the government has
threatened to impose its own solution if negotiations fail
but is clearly reluctant to take such a step, and the parties
know it. The government, all agree, wants Telefonica and the
other telecommunications companies that own the ISPs to
voluntarily make some concessions - especially, to agree to a
graduated response regime modeled on some combination of
British and French approaches to the problem - in order to
spare the government from having to take politically
unpopular measures unilaterally. However, the ISPs, eager to
avoid customer resentment, stress that they will do whatever
government requires through law or regulation, but only
because they are required to do so. Telefonica, as part of
its corporate social responsibility programs, participates in
a prominent anti-piracy public education campaign. However,
a company spokesperson recently told mass circulation daily
El Pais that Telefonica is "neither judge nor party" in the
controversy over file-sharing and P2P downloads and that it
"will do whatever our regulator says when a decision is made"
but is otherwise totally neutral on Internet piracy questions.

SIGNS OF LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT

10. (U) On November 5, the Congress of Deputies issued a
non-binding resolution urging the government to "promote an
effective strategy, approved by consensus, to fight
activities in the digital environment that violate
intellectual property rights, based on agreement among all
sectors involved: the content industry, internet operators,
consumers, and users." The government was not involved in
the development of this resolution, but took it as a positive
sign that, once the private parties agree on a way forward,
there will be support in the Congress for enabling
legislation. A Ministry of Culture representative told
Econoffs February 25 that Congress's Culture Committee had
issued a resolution calling for a panel of experts to draft
revisions to the Intellectual Property law, but post has no
further information.

GOS PUBLIC AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

11. (U) The GOS considers public opinion to be a key
battleground in the struggle against all forms of IPR piracy,
and public education and awareness to be critical elements in
protecting digital content. All observers agree that many
Spaniards still do not view online piracy as a problem or
even as an offense. Due in part to the Fiscalia's 2006
Circular, some believe peer-to-peer downloading is akin to
making a private copy of a digital file and is thus
permitted. Others simply can't understand how there could be
an issue over such an easy, convenient, unimpeded act. Yet
others see such downloading, though considered "wrong" by
some, as a form of Robin Hood activity, stealing from wealthy
artists, entertainers, and companies.

12. (U) The government has undertaken a number of activities
in the past year to promote responsible Internet use and to
discourage piracy. The Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and
Trade organized an International Conference on Digital
Content (FICOD) in late November, with a separate conference
involving many of the same participants on Protecting IPR in
the Digital Environment. The Minister, Miguel Sebastian,
spoke at FICOD, and the Secretary of State for
Telecommunications, Francisco Ros, at the IPR Conference.
Both underscored the need for stronger IPR protection if the
sector is to grow, and highlighted the government's
commitment to combating digital piracy. Also in late

MADRID 00000224 004.2 OF 006

November, Minister of Culture Cesar Antonio Molina launched
the government's third anti-piracy public education campaign,
aimed especially at young people, with the slogan, "If you're
legal, you're all right." The campaign and Minister Molina's
public statements that the GOS would soon be publishing new
regulations to protect digital content sparked expressions of
concern among Spain's vocal pro-piracy Internet users' lobby,
though both their effort to have Molina fired and a
pro-piracy demonstration fizzled. The Culture Ministry is
planning to launch another public awareness campaign after
the current one ends at the end of March and is also
organizing seminars on subjects related to IPR protection.
The Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade, meanwhile, will
begin on March 31 a campaign with the Business Software
Alliance and a Spanish industry group to promote use of legal
software.

GOOD PRACTICES MANUAL

13 (U) Another important GOS initiative was the December 11
launch of a new "Manual of Good Practices" prepared by a
broad inter-agency group coordinated by the Ministry of
Culture. The Manual is a general reference on IPR issues
combined with guidelines and practical suggestions on how to
recognize potentially infringing activity, conduct
investigations, and prepare cases to be brought before
judges. Rights-holders' groups hailed the Manual as
establishing "approved criteria" for investigating and
prosecuting IPR crime. In its section on Investigations, the
Manual describes the phenomenon of P2P downloads and
underscores that, when done without the content owner's
authorization, such downloads are always illegal and, in
contrast with the Fiscalia's Circular, characterizes as
"erroneous" any notion that they might constitute permitted
private copying.

THE CIRCULAR REMAINS UNCHANGED

14. (SBU) One major issue that rights-holders unanimously
cite as the main obstacle to effective online IPR enforcement
is the 2006 "Circular" issued by the Fiscalia. The Circular,
a 115-page document consisting of instructions to
prosecutors, was an attempt to incorporate into practice the
2003 IPR amendments to the Penal Code, which among other
things made IPR violations a public crime subject to ex
officio action by authorities rather than an offense
requiring a private complaint. Numerous experts have praised
the Circular as a significant advance for the protection of
IPR, especially industrial property (patents and trademarks).
At the same time, there is near universal agreement that its
treatment of Internet piracy, especially P2P file-sharing and
downloading, constitutes a combination of misunderstanding,
dubious interpretation, and misguided policy. The Circular
states that while websites that make available links to
protected material are clearly not engaged in making a
"private copy" as permitted under the so-called "Digital
Canon," an Internet user who downloads from such a link or
from a P2P network is in fact making a private copy. In
addition, the Fiscalia redefines "profit motive," identified
by the Penal Code as a prerequisite for prosecuting
IPR-infringing activity as a crime, to mean "commercial
profit motive" and specifies that infringing activity must be
of commercial scale to constitute a crime. As such, no
individual who downloads protected material can be criminally
prosecuted, and those who make it available can be prosecuted
only if they charge for the service, or, in theory, if they
promote the availability of the material on their websites as
a means of selling advertising.

15. (SBU) The Fiscalia's argument for treating illicit
downloads and file-sharing as a civil, rather than as a
criminal, offense, was twofold: That criminalizing all
IPR-infringing activity as well as a broad cross-section of
society that uses Internet technologies would violate the
principle of "minimal intervention" by law enforcement (in
other words, we can't prosecute half the population); and
that criminal prosecution should be reserved for serious
offenses and that illicit downloading represents a minor
offense which can more appropriately be addressed in the
civil courts. The Circular has been interpreted by many
Internet users, as well as by many police, prosecutors, and
judges, as declaring P2P downloading to be a permitted
activity that is no business of law enforcement. Some judges
have rejected criminal charges against infringing website

MADRID 00000224 005.2 OF 006

operators based on the Circular's reasoning.

16. (SBU) A Fiscalia official with whom post met recently
repeated the GOS argument that the Circular is not binding on
judges nor a statement of what the law is or is not, but
rather a series of instructions designed to help orient
prosecutors in their handling of IPR cases. At the same
time, she argued that the Circular was legally correct in its
reflection of the Penal Code's "profit motive" requirement.
If police decline to open criminal investigations against
internet IPR violators, and prosecutors decline to press
charges, they are correctly interpreting the Circular's
intent. However, it is not the Fiscalia's fault, she
stressed, if some people misinterpret the Circular to mean
that P2P downloading and file-sharing are permitted, legally
sanctioned activities. Nor can the Fiscalia be blamed for
the fact that civil cases for Internet piracy tend to run
aground on the Data Protection Law, which imposes a high
threshold for identifying users according to the Internet
Protocol addresses. Those who don't like the Circular's
assignment of P2P to civil jurisdiction, she suggested,
should focus on either amending the Penal Code or improving
civil procedure. The Fiscalia has not considered issuing any
sort of modification or clarification of the Circular, she
said. Nor, as far has post has been able to determine, has
anyone in the government made a serious effort to convince it
to do so, despite our efforts. However, if private-sector
negotiations produce an effective system of dissuasive
measures, the Circular will likely become less of an issue.

SOFTWARE PIRACY DECLINING

17. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is not a member of
the Anti-Piracy Coalition. While BSA reports significant
piracy problems, including on the Internet, it also enjoys
strong and constructive relations with the government.
Microsoft recently published a report citing GOS action
against piracy and stating that software piracy rates
declined in 2008 from their 2007 levels.

ADVANCES AGAINST STREET PIRACY

18. (U) Rights-holders and government representatives all
agree that law enforcement has done a good job of enforcing
IPR laws against the sale of pirated and counterfeit goods.
The National Police and the Civil Guard have conducted
numerous investigations, resulting in a number of raids on
street markets, of which the most significant were in June
and November. While statistics are not yet available for
2008, preliminary estimates indicate that authorities
conducted at least 40 IPR enforcement actions resulting in
more than 300 arrests and the seizures of at least 26 million
euros worth of pirated or counterfeit merchandise. In
addition, last month the National Police seized 1,150
unauthorized copying and modification devices that enable
video games to be uploaded to portable Nintendo consoles.
Rights-holders note that coordination between national and
local law enforcement varies from one city to another across
Spain and tends to depend on relations between national
government representatives and municipal governments, which
may in turn depend on the political orientation of Mayors and
city councils. Catalonia is one region where the
coordination is reported to be especially good, whereas
representatives of the music industry cited Granada in the
south as an example of a city where street piracy remains a
problem due to poor coordination between national and local
law enforcement. Another problem cited by rights-holders is
a lack of proactivity on the part of some public prosecutors
in investigating and prosecuting offending vendors and an
unwillingness on the part of some judges to levy fines and
jail sentences. In addition, one content providers'
association head complained that police still require his
organization to defray the costs of transporting and storing
seized material. That said, everyone we talked to agreed
that authorities have continued to increase and improve their
enforcement efforts against street piracy over the past year.

19. (U) Many, however, expressed concern over a new movement
to decriminalize "top manta," the practice of selling pirated
videos, CDs, video games, and other portable contraband
displayed on sheets or blankets which can quickly be folded
and gathered up to conceal the merchandise when police
approach. Police arrested approximately 700 "manteros" or

MADRID 00000224 006.2 OF 006

blanket people in 2008, and some 62 are in jail after being
convicted of IPR violations. A few recording artists have
lent their names to a campaign calling for leniency for
arrested manteros and for a change in the law. One judge on
Spain's Audiencia Nacional (High Court) has characterized top
manta (which is generally conducted by immigrants from
Africa) as "a minority business by the poor and for the poor"
and referred to enforcement efforts against it as
"criminalizing poverty." Some even argue that street sales
of pirated goods are insignificant because music, films, and
games can be obtained so much more easily over the Internet.
The campaign to decriminalize "top manta" has gained
sympathetic media coverage in recent weeks and has come to
legislators' attention. On February 13, a group of
Congressmen from small, left-wing parties from Catalonia
introduced in the Justice Committee a resolution calling on
the government to decriminalize blanket sales. Although GOS
officials say they will oppose this initiative,
rights-holders are concerned that an adverse climate of
public opinion may demoralize police and lead to a diminution
of enforcement actions.

EMBASSY IPR ACTIVITIES

20. (U) At the suggestion of Minister of Industry, Tourism,
and Trade Sebastian following Spain's placement on the Watch
List, Embassy set up a bilateral IPR working group with
representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and
Trade and the Ministry of Culture. The group has met several
times to assess progress on the USG's recommendations and on
ways to improve Spain's IPR performance. The Ambassador met
twice with Minister Sebastian and once with Minister of
Culture Molina to advocate a more activist approach to
combating piracy. Both the outgoing and incoming DCMs
discussed our IPR concerns with Secretary of State for
Telecommunications and the Information Society Francisco Ros.
USPTO attorney-advisor Michael Shapiro was a presenter on
two panels at the November IPR/Digital conference; during his
visit, DCM hosted a lunch for representatives of the
government, the Anti-Piracy Coalition, and Redtel. Econoff
meets regularly with rights-holders, service providers, and
government officials to highlight USG's interest in the
success of negotiations and the promulgation of effective
legislation.

COMMENT

21. (SBU) Post believes the many GOS actions to discourage
piracy are significant, and that the GOS-promoted
negotiations between rights-holders and ISPs are likely to
identify measures that will reduce Internet piracy. For
these reasons, post does not recommend placing Spain on the
Priority Watch List. However, until ISPs and rights-holders
reach agreement and the GOS begins to take the necessary
implementing actions, we see no argument for removing Spain
from the Watch List.

22. (SBU) We believe the year ahead offers important
opportunities for us to press the GOS to take definitive
steps forward. The government is increasingly sensitive to
its international image in the run-up to its assumption of
the EU Presidency in January 2010. It is also eager to
strengthen and expand bilateral engagement with the new U.S.
Administration, and hopes for high-level visits and meetings.
In this context, the government is aware that Spain's
continuing Internet piracy problem hurts overall relations.
We need to find additional ways to use this sentiment to our
advantage. End Comment.
CHACON;"

ID:
232991
Etiquetas:
KIPR, ETRD, ECPS, SP
Fecha:
2009-11-04 10:48:00
RefID:
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SENSITIVE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, ECPS, SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN IPR/INTERNET PIRACY: INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMISSION

REF: A) MADRID 1052; B) MADRID 982; C) MADRID 224

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1. (SBU) In an October 29 meeting, visiting senior U.S. Copyright
Office official Maria Pallante and Spanish Culture Ministry official
Carlos Guervos discussed the recently formed Inter-Ministerial
Commission on Internet piracy. Guervos said the Inter-Ministerial
Commission will draft a law to improve and speed up the IPR civil
litigation process and also create an administrative mechanism to
have infringing content removed from the web. Guervos later told
Econoff that the Commission will not attempt to modify the
Prosecutor General's (Fiscala) Circular, but predicted that the new
legislation will compel the Fiscala to issue a new Circular that
will correct the deficiencies of the current one. Septel reports
discussion of issues pertaining to the December meeting of WIPO's
Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR). End
Summary.

INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMISSION TO PROPOSE LEGISLATION

2. (SBU) Maria Pallante, Associate Register for Policy and
International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office, met October 29
with Carlos Guervos, Deputy Director General for Intellectual
Property at the Ministry of Culture, on the margins of a
WIPO/Ministry of Culture-sponsored conference on Intellectual
Property and Cultural Heritage in the Digital Environment. Guervos
characterized the Council of Ministers' recent creation of an
Inter-Ministerial Commission to work on intellectual property
infringements on websites (see ref A) as a real example of the will
of the Spanish government to tackle the piracy problem. He
identified the Commission's mandate as finding effective legal
solutions to Internet piracy and said the members would build upon
the efforts over the past several months by representatives of the
Ministries of Industry, Culture, Justice, and Interior to diagnose
the problem and develop possible solutions. In an attempt to speed
up the Commission's deliberations, Guervos and representatives of
the other three Ministries have been bringing their colleagues from
the Foreign Affairs, Economy and Finance, and Education Ministries
and the Presidency up to speed on efforts undertaken to date.

3. (SBU) The Commission, he said, is to present a draft law to the
Council of Ministers by December 31 for approval preparatory to its
submission to Congress. While the Commission will also propose
measures on public awareness and education - the reason of the
Education Ministry's inclusion is the intention to incorporate
anti-piracy messages into school curricula - the legislative
component is far and away the most important piece, Guervos said.

IMPROVING THE CIVIL JUDICIAL PROCESS

4. (SBU) The draft legislation, Guervos continued, will contain both
judicial and administrative solutions. The government hopes to
amend the civil procedure law to remove obstacles that currently
make it extremely difficult for rights-holders to win damages in
civil litigation against infringers. For example, the changes would
make it possible for judges to require disclosure of individuals'
names based on their Internet Protocol addresses in civil cases.
The Commission does not intend to address criminal judicial
processes, Guervos said, because modifying the Penal Code would be
an arduous and controversial undertaking; however, he argued that a
robust and agile civil process that offers rights-holders an
effective remedy would make criminal prosecution less necessary. In
addition, he said, a viable civil process would afford
rights-holders the opportunity to present evidence of the earnings
of pirate websites from advertising revenues. Once they have met
the "commercial profit motive" standard required by the Penal Code
and the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscala) 2006 Circular (see
ref C), rights-holders could convert the case into a mixed
criminal-civil process, he said.

CREATING AN ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY

5. (SBU) Guervos stated that because, even with these improvements,
a judicial remedy will remain difficult, the legislation would also
create an administrative mechanism that does not run afoul of
privacy and data protection concerns. The law will either create a
governmental administrative body or empower an existing body to
order Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take down infringing
websites if they are housed in Spain or block them if they are
located elsewhere, or at the very least remove infringing material.
This administrative remedy, Guervos said, would be rapid and thus
would "stop the bleeding" by removing unauthorized content as soon

MADRID 00001075 002.3 OF 002

as it is reported. He noted that although ISPs have been reluctant
to support such a solution, having a law in place would provide them
with "cover" in the case of complaints by irate customers. In
response to Pallante's question about punishment of repeat offenders
who commit willful infringement, Guervos said the law would provide
for more definite administrative sanctions against webmasters in
those cases, but he did not specify what they would be.

6. (SBU) Guervos noted that unlike a "graduated response" system,
the Inter-Ministerial Commission's legislative proposal does not
contemplate measures against individual internet users or consumers
who download material without authorization. As such, he said, it
will not change the Spanish public's bad habits or the culture in
which unauthorized file-sharing is perceived as not only legal but
socially acceptable. That is where the education and public
awareness ("consciousness-raising," he called it) components will
come into play.

SECURING CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

7. (SBU) Pallante asked Guervos whether all the Ministries
represented on the Commission were on board with the judicial and
administrative solutions he had outlined. He replied that the
various Ministries had different interests and constituencies, and
some were susceptible to lobbying, but he believed that, in light of
the mandate and tight deadline imposed by the Council of Ministers,
it would be difficult for any Ministry to hinder the Commission's
work. Assuming that the GOS submits the draft law to Congress in
January, Guervos could not predict how long it would take to get
Congress to pass it, though he expected it to be approved sometime
in 2010. He noted, however, that since it would be an ordinary, as
opposed to an organic, law, it would require only a relative, not an
absolute, majority in Congress, which would make the government's
task easier and would likely consume less time. Amending the Penal
Code, on the other hand, would require an organic or Constitutional
law, which would be a much more difficult and lengthy process.

8. (SBU) In a follow-up conversation, Econoff asked Guervos whether
the Inter-Ministerial Commission was considering amending the
Fiscalia's Circular, an action long sought by rights-holders and the
USG, and one that would not require Congressional approval. He
replied that the Fiscalia, though part of the Ministry of Justice,
is by law independent of the rest of the GOS, which cannot force it
to revise the Circular. However, he predicted that the existence of
the new IPR enforcement legislation would likely spur and perhaps
even compel the Fiscalia to update the Circular, offering an
occasion to amend its more problematic provisions.

COMMENT

9. (SBU) As outlined by Guervos, the legislation being drafted by
the Inter-Ministerial Commission, if passed by Congress, clearly has
the potential to achieve results. Rights-holders in Spain have long
bemoaned the near-futility of seeking redress via civil litigation,
and addressing this problem would represent a concrete advance. The
proposed administrative solution, while not as comprehensive as
similar attempts in other European countries or as inclusive as
rights-holders would like, could, if properly implemented,
significantly reduce the availability of infringing content. The
fact that the Ministry of Culture is taking its responsibility so
seriously and is pushing for this relatively ambitious proposal to
be adopted so swiftly is also an encouraging sign. In this regard,
Pallante and Guervos agreed that, given the potential importance of
the Commission and proposed legislative changes, it would be useful
for Guervos to travel to Washington in the near future to brief USG
and U.S. private-sector stakeholders as developments unfold. What
remains to be seen is whether the Commission will be able to keep to
its hyper-accelerated timeline and present its proposals in the nine
weeks remaining in the year, and whether the government will follow
up expeditiously in submitting the draft law to Congress and
pressing for its passage. End Comment.

10. (U) This cable was cleared by Maria Pallante.;"

ID:
231832
Etiquetas:
ETRD, KIPR, EINV, ECPS, KCRM, SP
Fecha:
2009-10-28 15:29:00
RefID:
09MADRID1052
Origen:
Embassy Madrid
Clasificación:
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Destino:
09MADRID224
09MADRID410
09MADRID417
09MADRID982
Encabezado:
VZCZCXRO3097
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHMD #1052/01 3011529
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281529Z OCT 09 ZDK MULT SVCS
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1384
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 4176
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 MADRID 001052

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, EINV, ECPS, KCRM, SP
SUBJECT: ZAPATERO PROMISES ACTION TO COMBAT INTERNET PIRACY

REF: A. MADRID 982
B. MADRID 417
C. MADRID 410
D. MADRID 224

MADRID 00001052 001.3 OF 005

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY

SUMMARY

1. (SBU) In an October 21 speech to the American Business
Council, President Zapatero addressed internet piracy in
public for the first time, acknowledging that deficiencies in
IPR protection in Spain are a source of concern to the USG
and the GOS. Zapatero pointed to the October 9 creation by
the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) of an Inter-Ministerial
Commission to study Internet piracy, which he said will
submit recommendations to the government before the end of
this year. The Commission appears to formalize and enhance
ongoing working-level Inter-Ministerial discussions. Its
formation, the December 31 deadline, and Zapatero's
high-profile statement are encouraging signs suggesting that
progress may be forthcoming. Post believes Zapatero's
October 13 meeting with the President has contributed to both
the formation of the Commission and Zapatero's willingness to
go on record emphasizing the need for a solution.

2. (SBU) Meanwhile, developments continue on other fronts,
and the decline in music, video, and movie sales this year
provides more evidence of the seriousness of the problem.
The government continues to urge the content providers and
the Internet Service Providers' (ISP) association (the
"Coalition" and "Redtel," respectively) to reach agreement on
measures to deter piracy. The two sides continue to exchange
proposals, but Coalition sources advise that any agreement
reached will be of modest scope. The Coalition also
announced it is developing a "macroweb" to make content
legally available online, which it plans to deploy in 2010
once the government begins to implement measures to protect
online content. Separately, rights-holders' groups have won
some internet piracy court cases and lost others. On October
19, the Coalition sent the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and
Trade (MITYC) a list of some 200 commercial-scale pirate
websites, asking the Ministry to take dissuasive action and
also to pass the list to the Prosecutor General's office
(Fiscalia) for criminal charges. End Summary.

THE NEW COMMISSION

3. (U) During the weeks leading up to President Zapatero's
October 13 meeting with President Obama, U.S.
copyright-dependent groups such as MPAA and the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA) pressed actively to
have President Obama raise internet piracy with Zapatero.
Members of Congress sent a letter to USTR and the Commerce
Department with the same message.

4. (U) On October 9, Spain's Council of Ministers (Cabinet)
announced the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial
Commission to address the problem of IPR violations on the
internet. The Council tasked the Commission with analyzing
the existing regulatory framework and identifying actions
that will make the criminal and civil judicial processes more
effective in protecting copyrights online and offering
remedies to rights-holders. The Commission is to provide the
Council with its preliminary conclusions and recommendations
by December 31.

5. (U) Senior officials (roughly Under Secretary and
Assistant Secretary equivalents) of the following eight
Ministries will comprise the Commission: MITYC, Culture,
Interior, Justice, Education, Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation, Economy and Finance, and the Presidency. The
Commission held its first meeting October 23 to set its work
agenda. The Commission will build on informal collaborative
efforts undertaken over the past several months at the
working level by MITYC, Culture, Industry, and Justice.

6. (U) In an October 22 meeting with Charge, MITYC State
Secre tary for Telecommunications and the Information Society
Francisco Ros acknowledged the challenge of coordinating
among eight Ministries but stressed the benefits of including
all relevant actors in the discussion of possible solutions.

MADRID 00001052 002.3 OF 005

He framed the problem as one of reconciling IPR with privacy
and other fundamental rights, arguing that in Spain and other
countries, government attempts to regulate the Internet have
sparked protests by privacy advocates and counter-measures by
legislatures.

7. (SBU) Rights-holders are convinced that the mere
possibility of Zapatero's having to address the issue in his
meeting with the President spurred the government to action.
Coalition President Aldo Olcese called the Council of
Ministers' announcement, which our government contacts had
played up all week as imminent good news that would
demonstrate the government's seriousness, "a cynical maneuver
to give Zapatero something to say" in case President Obama
did raise the issue. Olcese also called the announcement of
the Commission a delaying tactic, since it pushes any
solution into the future. He predicts the Commission will
recommend among other things that Spain seek a European-wide
approach to Internet piracy during its EU Presidency, an
approach that State Secretary Ros is known to support but
which rights-holders fear could lead to further delay.

ZAPATERO RECOGNIZES THE PROBLEM

8. (SBU) The reported discussion of internet piracy by a
senior White House official with close advisors of Zapatero,
and GOS pleasure with Zapatero's visit to DC as a whole,
appear to have resonated at senior levels of the GOS. In an
October 21 speech to the American Business Council (ABC) on
economic issues, Zapatero addressed the issue in public for
the first time. He cited Spain's impressive performance in
attracting foreign investment but noted the need for
improvement in several areas, including IPR, as part of a
broader effort to enhance Spain's attractiveness to foreign
investors. Without specifically naming internet piracy, he
noted that IPR protection was of concern to both the USG and
the GOS. He pointed out that Spain boasts the world's fourth
largest cultural industry and that the "creative sector"
accounts for 4% of GDP. Zapatero expressed support for the
Coalition-Redtel negotiations and reiterated that the newly
formed Inter-Ministerial Commission is to present its
proposal by year's end.

SALES DROP ILLUSTRATES SERIOUSNESS OF PROBLEM

9. (U) Representatives of copyright groups have presented an
array of evidence to dramatize the plight of their
industries. Legitimate music sales in Spain fell by more
than 30% in the first six months of 2009 compared with the
same period in 2008. Video sales were down 33% and rentals
down 44%. Movie attendance has declined significantly over
the past two years. While the severe recession contributed
to these losses, industry representatives point the finger at
competition from illicit downloads and file-sharing.

PRIVATE SECTOR NEGOTIATIONS

10. (U) Per reftels, beginning in May 2008, the government
had urged the Coalition and Redtel to negotiate an agreement
on deterring and combating digital piracy. The parties
worked for almost a year in three different areas -
dissuasive measures (including recommendations for
legislative and regulatory reforms), public education and
awareness, and new business models, i.e., making more content
legally available online.

11. (U) As reported ref B, Redtel broke off negotiations in
April 2009. According to Redtel executive director Maria
Teresa Arcos, Redtel and the Coalition have not conducted any
formal negotiations since then. Sometimes Coalition and
Redtel presidents Aldo Olcese and Miguel Canalejo meet
together with senior officials of MITYC or the Culture
Ministry; the two groups also sometimes communicate through
third parties, especially government officials; and they have
also passed draft proposals back and forth. The government
is eager to have a private-sector agreement, however modest
or narrow, on which to base its own initiatives. The
Coalition is willing to keep trying for an agreement as a
means of keeping the government engaged, but it says it has
become disillusioned with the continued dilution of its
proposals. It has given up, at least for now, any measures
to sanction or even notify individual users who infringe

MADRID 00001052 003.3 OF 005

copyrights online, and its proposal that ISPs or the
government shut down or block pirate websites probably would
require controversial legislation. It does not expect the
"de minimis" agreement to advance its interests much.

12. (U) Redtel's primary emphasis in the negotiation has been
on the business model issue, as its ISP members hoped to
enter into lucrative business deals with such Coalition
members as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
and various recording companies to market their products
legally online. The ISPs' inability to achieve their
objectives in this area was the ostensible reason for
suspension of the negotiations. However, content providers'
representatives note that the ISPs and their parent
telecommunications companies (Telefonica, Orange, Vodaphone,
and Ono) have a number of contentious issues pending with the
government involving taxation, competition, and regulation,
and may be using the Internet piracy negotiations as leverage
with the government on other matters. In public, Redtel
executives have said if the government wants to solve the
piracy problem, it should take action, and the ISPs will
comply with their obligations, but the government should not
expect voluntary concessions from Redtel.

13. (U) Meanwhile, the Coalition announced October 19 its own
new business model: a "macro-website" offering access at
reasonable prices to its members' products, including the
much-desired and much-pirated movies made available by major
U.S. studios. The new site is reportedly based on the U.K.
website findanyfilm.com and will also contain music and
games. Coalition president Olcese noted that consolidating
the content in one place will offer an attractive alternative
to illegal downloads and file-sharing. He stated, however,
that the "macroweb" will not be formally launched until the
government has begun to implement measures to combat piracy
and protect content, which the Coalition hopes will be in
early 2010. Rights-holders argue that Spain's current
lawless online environment makes legal content offers futile.
During a visit to Madrid, International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry (IFPI) president John Kennedy
characterized Spain's situation as a "vicious circle" in that
such legal websites can never compete against free downloads
as long as piracy remains unpunished, and are therefore not a
sound investment.

COURT CASES - WIN SOME, LOSE MORE: THE "CIRCULAR" CASTS ITS
SHADOW

14. (U) The government claims it is doing everything it can
under current authority to combat Internet piracy. At State
Secretary Ros' recent meeting with AmCham's IP Committee (ref
A), Salvador Soriano, Deputy Director General for Information
Society Services in the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and
Trade (MITYC), cited statistics showing that in the past four
years, law enforcement authorities have investigated 100
websites over allegations of illicit activity; 43 criminal
complaints have been filed by either private parties or
government entities; 43 arrests have been made; and 34 cases
are currently before investigating judges.

15. (U) Comment: These figures cover activity since 2005.
According to Jose Manuel Tourne of the Federation for the
Protection of Intellectual Property in Audiovisual Works
(FAP), authorities conducted 21 investigations for Internet
piracy in 2006 and more than 20 in 2007. Many of those cases
are still working their way through the judicial system and
are still awaiting decisions by investigating judges or have
been appealed to provincial courts. Many have been thrown
out by judges following the reasoning of the Circular (see
ref D) issued in May 2006 by the Prosecutor General's office
(Fiscalia). One case in April (ref C) in La Rioja resulted
in an important precedent with the first-ever conviction of a
web operator for running a pirate website that generated
profit for advertising revenues. Sources in the National
Police, Civil Guard, and Fiscalia have told post that in the
past two years police and prosecutors have largely given up
pursuing these cases because the Circular sets such a high
bar. While the government continues to insist that the
Circular is not binding on judges, its language has directly
influenced judges and led to unfortunate outcomes in a number
of such cases.

MADRID 00001052 004.3 OF 005

16. (U) Comment continued: In the Circular - a series of
guidelines for prosecutors to follow in investigating and
prosecuting IPR cases - the Fiscalia argued against pursuing
criminal charges against file-sharers on the grounds that it
was impractical and undesirable to penalize "a broad
cross-section of society that uses technological advances to
access protected works." Most rights-holders do not pursue
criminal charges against individual Internet users except in
the most egregious circumstances. They believe, however,
that prison sentences and/or suspension of Internet access
are not necessarily disproportionate in such extreme
circumstances, and also that, if available, such sanctions
would provide a strong deterrent against illicit downloads
where none currently exists. End comment.

17. (U) Rights-holders' groups were heartened by a September
decision of a three-judge appellate panel of the Provincial
Court of Murcia. An investigating judge had dismissed a
criminal complaint filed by rights-holders in 2006 against a
website ("Elite Divx") that made files available for
peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading. The lower court followed the
interpretation contained in the Circular, according to which
most unauthorized P2P activity should be pursued as a civil
wrong rather than as a crime. (Note: In large part because
of the Circular, media routinely report, and the Spanish
public at large generally believes without question, that P2P
activity is entirely legal. End note.) In sending the case
back to the lower court to be re-tried, the appellate court
found that unauthorized P2P activity is in fact covered by
the relevant sections of the Penal Code; that it comprises a
form of "public communication...in the form of making
(content) available"; that therefore (in direct contradiction
of the Circular) the "private copy exception" does not apply;
and that - even accepting the Circular's controversial
interpretation that a commercial profit motive must be
present for criminal penalties to apply - the revenues earned
by the website from advertising demonstrate that it is "an
authentic business receiving important economic benefits
which increase based on the number of visits" and thus
covered by the Penal Code.

18. (U) The Murcia court's decision does not have binding
precedential force, but rights-holders believe that because
it was issued by an appellate court (albeit not a national
one), and because, unlike many judicial decisions, it
explains the judges' reasoning so forcefully and clearly, it
is likely to influence other pending and future internet
piracy cases elsewhere in the court system. That said, many
cases arising out of a series of police raids and website
shutdowns in 2006-7 have already resulted in acquittals or
have been summarily dismissed by investigating judges based
at least in part on the Circular's influence.

19. (U) In a separate case, rights-holders' groups were
dismayed on October 15, when an investigating judge in Madrid
rejected a complaint filed by the Music Producers of Spain
(Promusicae) and music companies Universal, Warner, Sony, and
EMI against an individual (identified in court by only his
Internet Protocol number) who uploaded approximately 9,000
music recordings without authorization using a P2P
application, making them available to anyone who wanted them.
The judge quoted from the Circular's language stating that
in order to constitute a crime, P2P activity must involve
commercial profit. Accordingly, he found that the only
exchange taking place was that of "sharing among different
users the material at their disposal, which constitutes
socially acceptable and very widespread behavior that in the
end is in no way illicit enrichment; rather, said conduct
would raise the possibility of obtaining copies for private
use, which leads to the conclusion that in this case there is
no infraction deserving of criminal sanction." Promusicae is
appealing the verdict.

THE COALITION'S CHALLENGE

20. (U) At his October 19 press conference, Olcese also
announced that the Coalition, in partnership with the
self-described anti-piracy investigative entity CoPeerRight
Agency, had developed a list of 200 commercial-scale pirate
websites, of which 62 operate from Spain. Olcese said he was
sending the list to MITYC in the hopes that the government
will take action against the offending sites, which

MADRID 00001052 005.3 OF 005

CoPeerRight estimates generate average annual revenues of 1.5
million euros from advertising directly related to their
offers of infringing content. Olcese also asked MITYC to
pass the list to the Fiscalia for criminal prosecution.

21. (SBU) Comment: MITYC currently has no authority to take
any action against the sites except perhaps impose weak
administrative sanctions. There is no reason the Coalition
could not file a criminal complaint with the police, provide
them with the list and accompanying documentation, and ask
them to investigate. However, the Coalition believes Spanish
law enforcement authorities are much more likely to
investigate vigorously and prosecute if the material is given
to them by a government entity such as MITYC.

22. (SBU) Comment continued: The Coalition's other reason for
sending the list to MITYC is to implicate that Ministry in
the piracy problem and hold it accountable for finding a
solution. The Coalition is trying to keep the public
spotlight and pressure on the government - and especially
MITYC - while the Inter-Ministerial Commission explores
possible initiatives. The rights-holders' objective is the
creation of a new government administrative body - a pale
imitation of the High Authority contemplated by recent
legislation in France - that would have the power to shut
down or block pirate websites. Rights-holders' groups
believe that State Secretary Ros opposes the creation of such
a body because he does not want his office, which oversees
Internet matters, to become responsible for the problem.
Content providers, who continue to believe in the face of
Ros' recent "urban legend" remark (see ref A) that Spain has
one of the highest rates of Internet piracy in the world, are
determined to make him face up to the problem. End Comment.
CHACON;"

¡Qué bien servimos a nuestro amo!

Resumen en Castellano plis, y es que yo al Inglés solo le pego si es pequeño y se deja...

megadriver escribió:Resumen en Castellano plis, y es que yo al Inglés solo le pego si es pequeño y se deja...

Estamos igual

Me pondré a ello esta noche. De todos modos, no es nada nuevo, son los papeles de WikiLeaks sobre el asunto, o sea que os podéis hacer una idea porque ya lo han contado algunos periódicos. Solo lo he vuelto a sacar por el cabreo de que la hayan aprobado.

Es un mensaje de la Embajada de Madrid a la Secretaría de Estado (el equivalente a yankee al Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, que lo lleva Hillary Clinton), del día 2 de marzo de 2009.

Voy a traducir el sumario y los comentarios finales, que es donde se resume todo. En el medio sólo dan las cifras concretas de todo lo expuesto. Que es mucho tocho para mi... xD También voy a traducir uno de esos puntos, que considero especialmente significativo. Lo que hay en cursiva son todo anotaciones mías.

Atentos sobre todo al último punto del cable.

SENSIBLE PERO DESCLASIFICADO - POR FAVOR, PROTEGER ADECUADAMENTE

SUMARIO Y RECOMENDACIONES

PUNTO 1 Cuenta que España fue incluida en una lista del Oficina de Comercio del Gobierno (americano) en abril de 2008 por la incapacidad de su Gobierno (el español) para tomar medidas concretas y eficaces contra el creciente problema de la piratería en internet. Un año después, los problemas continúan creciendo. Ahora están (refiriendose al Gobierno español) presionando para que den resultado las negociaciones entre las ISP (orange, jazztel, telefónica, yahoo, etc.) y los propietarios de los derechos intelectuales, porque no se atreven a intervenir sin un acuerdo entre ambas partes. Todavía no han iniciado ninguna regulación legislativa o de medidas, ya que están pendientes del resultado de esas negociaciones. También han dado otros pasos en concienciación pública para desalentar la piratería. La tercera campaña publicitaria fue puesta en marcha por el Ministerio de Cultura en noviembre de 2008. Ese mismo año el Ministro de Industria, Turismo y Comercio organizó la segunda conferencia sobre Propiedad Intelectual y era digital. En ella los propietarios de los derechos intelectuales (cada vez que los nombra imagino que se referirá básicamente a SGAE y Academia del Cine) mostraron su conformidad con un texto presentado sobre buenas prácticas en internet que enfatizaba que el P2P (emule, Ares, etc) no debería ser legal.

PUNTO 2 El Gobierno no está investigando o persiguiendo las descargas P2P, debido en gran parte a una circular de la Fiscalía General de 2006 que sentaba que dicha actividad no debería ser considerado delito sino una simple falta. Como se juzga por lo civil y no por lo criminal los investigadores no tienen manera de pedir a las ISP que identifiquen a los usuarios que usan P2P. El Gobierno quizá se ponga a solucionar este problema cuando dichas negociaciones concluyan.
Los propietarios de los derechos intelectuales aplauden que al menos Policía y Guardia Civil estén combatiendo la piratería callejera (lo que nosotros llamamos top-manta), pero afirman que la piratería en internet es ahora un problema mucho mayor. Por otra parte, la gente tiende a defender a los vendedores de este contenido ilegal y a descriminalizarlos.

PUNTO 3 Recomendación: Como se ha expuesto anteriormente, el gobierno español intentándolo contra la piratería. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los observadores están de acuerdo en que la piratería continuará creciendo hasta que Gobierno e ISPs acuerden regularlo todo con alguna ley. Además las negociaciones en el sector privado podrían facilitar este acuerdo, pero no está claro que esto vaya a suceder en los próximos meses. Por eso recomendamos mantener a España en la lista.

PUNTO 4 Velar por los derechos de la propiedad intelectual es, en España, cometido del Minsiterio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo y del Ministerio de Cultura. Interior (que dirge la policía) y Justicia de reforzarlo. El Ministro de Cultura forma parte de un Comité Inter-sectorial creado en 2005 para debatir sobre los planes nacionales anti-piratería. Los propietarios de los derechos intelectuales lamentan la incapacidad y la falta de recursos de este ministro para tomar acciones concretas, CASUALMENTE UN MES DESPUÉS LA SINDE ERA MINISTRA, y que el Gobierno no ha centralizado todas las acciones contra la piratería. Sin embargo, el problema, más que de falta de coordinación entre instituciones es de deficiencias en el sistema legal.

ACTIVIDADES DE LA EMBAJADA EN CUANTO A LA PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL

PUNTO 20 A petición del Ministro de Industria, Comercio y Turismo Sebastián, la Embajada se ha organizado reuniones entre los propietarios de la propiedad intelectual y representantes del Ministerio y del Ministerio de Cultura. El grupo se ha reunido varias veces para ser advertido de las recomendaciones del Gobierno de EEUU en cómo mejorar la actuación de España en cuanto a sus derechos de la propiedad intelectual. El Embajador se ha reunido dos veces con Sebastián y una con Molina, Ministro de Cultura, para pedirle una actitud más activa en la lucha contra la piratería. Tanto el anterior como el entrante DCM (que es el nº 2 de una embajada, se habla de anterior y entrante porque Obama acababa de cambiar al embajador y todo el cuerpo diplomático en España ) comunicaron nuestras ideas sobre la propiedad intelectual al Secretario de Estado de Telecomunicaciones y Sociedad de la Información Francisco Ros. El representante enviado por la Oficina de Patentes de los EEUU, Michel Shapiro, dos paneles en las conferencias de noviembre (las organizadas por el Ministerio de Industria
), y durante su visita asisitió a dos comidas con representantes de Gobierno, de la Coalición Anti-Piratería y Redtel (que es la asociación de teleoperadoras española)

COMENTARIOS

PUNTO 21 Creo que la mayoría de las acciones del Gobierno español para desalentar la piratería son significantes. Por ello no recomiendo pasar a España a los más prioritarios de la lista. Sin embargo, hasta que ISPs y propietarios de los derechos intelectuales consigan un acuerdo y el Gobierno de España comience a tomar las acciones necesaras, tampoco vemos razón para borrar a España de la lista.

PUNTO 22 Creemos que el este año tendremos oportunidades importantes para presionar al Gobierno español para que de los pasos definitivos hacia delante. El Gobierno está cada vez más sensible con su imagen internacional de cara a la Presidencia Europea que asumirá en enero de 2010. También será más fácil y una buena oportunidad para revisar acuerdos bilaterales con EEUU o firmar otros con la nueva Administración (aquí Obama solo llevaba 2 meses y pico gobernando). En éste contexto, el Gobierno español se dará cuenta de que si continúa el problema de la piratería todas nuestras relaciones se verán afectadas. Necesitamos encontrar maneras adicionales de usar este sentimiento a nuestro favor. Fin del mensaje.

Atentos sobre todo a los 3 últimos puntos.


Ahora voy a cenar y después de Cuéntame hago lo propio con los dos cables siguientes, que son peores.

DE EMBAJADA MADRID A SECRETARÍA DE ESTADO

28 de octubre de 2009

SENSIBLE PERO DESCLASIFICADO . POR FAVOR, PROTEGER ADECUADAMENTE

ZAPATERO PROMETE ACCIÓN PARA COMBATIR PIRATERÍA EN INTERNET

SUMARIO

PUNTO 1. En un discurso dado el 21 de octubre ante la Cámara de Comercio Americana, el Presidente Zapatero se refirió a la piratería en internet en público por primera vez, reconociendo que que las deficiencias en protección de la propiedad intelectual en España es algo que atañe a los gobiernos español y americano. Zapatero señaló la creación el 9 de octubre por el Consejo de Ministros de una comisión interministerial de estudio de la piratería en internet, la cuál entregará un informe al Gobierno hacia finales de año. La reunión de Zapatero con el Presidente (Obama) el pasado 13 de Octubre ha contribuido tanto a la formación de la comisión como en el empeño de Zapatero en enfatizar la necesidad de una solución.

PUNTO 2. Mientras tanto, siguen esfuerzos en otros frentes, y las bajadas en las ventas de video, música y películas este año da más pruebas de la seriedad del problema. El gobierno sigue presionando a los propietarios de contenido y a las asociaciones ISPs a llegar a un acuerdo para tomar medidas para detener la piratería. Todas las partes intercambian propósitos, pero para la Coalición de creadores cualquier acuerdo es insuficiente. La Coalición también ha anunciado la creación de una macroweb para subir ofrecer algunos contenidos de manera legal que comenzarán a desarrollar en 2010 una vez que el Gobierno haya comenzado a dar pasos para proteger el contenido online ¡QUÉ RARO! Porque ha pasado más de un año, la ley está aprobada y, ¿vosotors habéis visto esa macroweb? porque yo no
Por otra parte, los propietarios de contenidos intelectuales han ganado algunos juicios y perdido otros. El 19 de octubre, la Coalición entregó al Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio una lista de 200 webs (la famosa lista Sinde) comerciales que facilitan la piratería, pidiéndole que tome acciones disuasorias y que pase la lista a la Fiscalía. Fin del sumario.
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PUNTO 20 Son 200 webs de todo el mundo, usadas en España, 62 de ellas operan desde aquí. Ha sido elaborada por la Coalición con ayuda de CoPeerRight, una agencia internacional de investigación antipiratería. Según estima CoPeerRight ganan 1.5 millones de euros en publicidad en sus webs.

LA NUEVA COMISIÓN

PUNTO 3 Durante las semanas previas a la reunión Zapatero-Obama del día 13, grupos de copyrght americanos como MPA y RIAA presionaron de forma activa para que Obama tratara el tema con Zapatero. Miembros el Congreso firmaron una carta que fue enviada al Departamento de Comercio y a la Oficina de Comercio con el mismo mensaje.

COMENTARIOS

PUNTO 21 El Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio actualmente no tiene autorización para realizar ninguna acción contra los sitios más allá de sanciones administrativas bajas. No hay razón para que la policía no investigue estas webs si se les da la inforamción, pero la Coalición está convencida de que tendrá más peso si el material es entregado por autoridades gubernamentales

PUNTO 22 La otra razón de la Coalición para entregar la lista al Ministerio es implicarlo en la lucha contra la piratería. La Coalición intenta mantener la presión sobre el Gobierno mientras que la comisión interministerial explora posibles iniciativas. La intención de los propietarios de derechos intelectuales es la de crear un nuevo cuerpo administrativo en el seno del Gobierno a imitación de la Alta Autoridad creada en Francia que tendría potestad para cerrar o bloquear webs que facilitan el pirateo. Los grupos y asociaciones de propietarios intelectuales creen que el Secretario de Estado Ros se opone a la creación de dicha institución porque no quiere que su oficina se vea implicada.

DE LA EMBAJADA DE MADRID A LA SECRETARÍA DE ESTADO

4 de noviembre de 2009

INF. SENSIBLE PERO DESCLASIFICADO . POR FAVOR PROTEGER ADECUADAMENTE

PIRATERÍA EN ESPAÑA. SOBRE LA COMISIÓN INTERMINISTERIAL

SUMARIO

PUNTO 1 En una reunión del 29 de octubre, la expresidente de la Oficina de Copyright de EEUU Maria Pallente y el subdirector (de propiedad intelectual) del Ministerio de Cultura Carlos Guervos hablaron sobre la recientemente creada Comisión sobre piratería en internet. Guervos dijo que esta comisión interministerial redactará una ley para acelerar el proceso creando un mecanismo administrativo que borre de la red los contenidos con propiedad intelectual. Guervos también aclaró que la comisión no intentará modificar la circular de la Fiscalía, pero predijo que la nueva ley obligaría a la Fiscalía a adoptar una política diferente.

ASEGURAR LA APROBACIÓN DEL CONGRESO

PUNTO 7 Pallente preguntó a Guervós si todos los ministros representados en la comisión (Industria, Cultura, Interior y Justicia) estaban trabajando en las soluciones administrativas y judiciales que él había señalado. Contestó que los diferentes ministros tienen intereses diversos y algunos podrían recibir presiones en contra, pero que el creía que en línea con lo aprobado en Consejo de Ministros, sería difícil que cualquier ministerio entorpeciera la labor de la comisión. Asumiendo que el Gobierno Español presentará le ley al Congreso en enero, Guervos no podía predecir cuanto tardaría en pasar por el Congreso, aunque esperaba que fuese aprobada a lo largo de 2010. Puntualizó, sin embargo, que al ser una ley ordinaria, solo requerirá una mayoría relativa. Enmendar el Código Penal, sin embargo, requeriría pasar por una ley orgánico o incluso reformar la Constitución, lo cual alargaría y dificultaría el proceso.

COMENTARIO

PUNTO 9 Como señaló Guervós, la ley elaborada por la comisión interinstitucional, una vez aprobada por el Congreso, tiene un verdadero potencial para conseguir resultados claros. Los propietarios de derechos intelecutales españoles no están del todo contentos con que los delitos de piratería no se juzguen por lo criminal, pero reconocen que es una avance. La solución administrativa propuesta, aunque no es del todo como a los creadores gustaría, permitirá, debidamente aplicada, reducir de forma significativa la habilidad de infringir contenido. EL echo de que el Ministerio de Cultura se haya tomado este asunto tan seriamente es una buena señal. En este sentido, Pallente y Guervos estuvieron de acuerdo en que sería útil que este viajara a Waghington DC para reunirse con el Gobierno Americano y representantes del sector privado para explicar los avances. Queda pro ver si la comisión podrá mantener su ritmo de trabajo hiperacelerado y presentar su propuesta dentro de las nueve semanas que quedan de año, y si el Gobierno será capaz de hacer que la ley salga del Congreso. Fin del comentario.

Cables resumidos y traducidos. :D

Si es que cada vez esta más claro que esto viene impuesto por los todo poderosos imperialistas de los EEUU... Y nosotros que somos un pais debilucho, pues tenemos que plegarnos a las exigencias de los americanos.