VZCZCXRO9204
RR RUEHLMC RUEHVK
DE RUEHUM #0190/01 1190220
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280220Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2092
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6104
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3303
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2980
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2197
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 0409
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 1715
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 1776
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 0262
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0500
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 0054
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 0050
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0092
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0010
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ULAANBAATAR 000190 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USTR, USTDA, OPIC, AND EXIMBANK 
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EB/IFD/OIA/INL 
USAID FOR ANE FOR D. WINSTON 
USDOC FOR ZHEN-GONG CROSS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS:          
SUBJECT: 2008 TRENDS IN MONGOLIAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 
PROTECTION 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
 1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Generally, the Government of Mongolia and relevant 
agencies make good-faith efforts to enforce Intellectual Property 
Rights (IPR).  However, gaps in enforcement of IPR rights in 
relation to optical media, software, and certain treaty obligations 
exist, due to political pressure from politically connected IPR 
pirates, inconsistencies between Mongolian laws and IPR treaties, 
and institutional indifference.  In addition, Mongolia has developed 
a modest home-grown capacity to manufacture and distribute fakes 
that, although in its infancy, may reach out to counterfeit networks 
in China and Russia.  For these reasons, Post recommends that 
Mongolia receive training in U.S. IPR positions and U.S. enforcement 
methods on an annual basis.   END SUMMARY. 
 
Mongolia's current regime for protecting IPR 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
 2.  (U) The Government of Mongolia (GOM) supports intellectual 
property rights in general and has protected American rights in 
particular.  It has joined the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO), and signed and ratified most treaties and 
conventions, including the WTO TRIPS agreement.  The WIPO Internet 
treaties have been signed, but have yet to be ratified by 
Parliament.  Although the convention has not yet been ratified, the 
GOM and its intellectual property rights enforcer, the Intellectual 
Property Office of Mongolia (IPOM), generally make a good-faith 
effort to honor these agreements. 
 
 3. (U) The IPOM generally has an excellent record of protecting 
American trademarks, copyrights and patents.  However, its small 
budget and modest capacity limits the scope of its actions.  In most 
cases, when the Embassy conveys a complaint from a rights holder to 
the IPOM, the IPOM quickly investigates the complaint.  If it judges 
that a violation has occurred, it seizes the pirated products or 
removes the faked trademarks, under administrative powers granted in 
Mongolian law. 
 
 4. (SBU) A specific case in point is the support provided last year 
to Mongol Star Melchers (MSM), the authorized distributor for 
Johnson and Johnson (JJ) medical products in Mongolia.  MSM had 
reported that JJ's Vicryl line of sutures had suffered from 
trademark infringement of the Vicryl trademarks by a Mongolian firm 
that had imported fake sutures from China.  Post facilitated 
contacts between the IPOM and the official distributor.  IPOM 
investigated the infringement and expressed a desire to enforce JJ's 
trademarks, pending the distributor's completion of all Mongolian 
registration requirements.  The distributor confirmed completion of 
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