Russian IP Officials visit Washington, D.C.

22-23 April, 2004

Russian IP Delegates Boris Simonov (left), Federal Services Chief, Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademark Services; Sergei Shurygin (second from right), Chief of the Department on Tariff and Non-Tariff Regulation Administration; and, Andrei Starostin (right), Deputy Chief of the Main Administration on Economic Crimes, Interior Ministry, join with CIPR's Susan Thurman, at a CIPR-sponsored dinner in Washington, D.C.

The tulips in Washington , D.C were in full spring bloom when CIPR welcomed members of a Russian intellectual property rights (IPR) delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Elena Danilova, to the U.S. capital in April. The delegation was in town for official bilateral meetings with the U.S. government to discuss intellectual property issues.

In addition to Minister Danilova, notable delegates included Boris Simonov, Russia's new Chief of the Federal Services on IP for Patents and Trademarks; Andrei Dolgorukov, Chief of the American Countries Department of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade; Sergei Shurygin, Head of the Department on Tariff and Non-Tariff Regulation at the State Customs Committee; Andrei Starostin, Deputy Head of the Administration on Economic Crimes at the Ministry of Internal Affairs; and Nikolai Vladimir, North American Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other high-level Russian IP officials.

CIPR hosted two events for the visiting delegation. On 22 April, CIPR members Scott Miller of Anheuser-Busch, Mike Bertman of Diageo, Chris Stewart of Gallup , and Janet Hoffman of Fross Zelnick joined Peter Necarsulmer, Susan Thurman and Paul Nathanson of CIPR to host the eleven-member delegation for a dinner and toasts at the elegant Italian restaurant Galileo.

The following day, the delegates attended a luncheon and meeting, co-sponsored by CIPR, Procter & Gamble and the U.S.-Russia Business Council, with representatives of the U.S. business community.

During her presentation, Ms. Danilova provided an overview of the Russian government's efforts to protect IPR and provided an outline of President Putin's agenda for promoting IPR protection in Russia . She also provided attendees with an overview of the government's restructuring and improvement of the legislative framework for IPR.

Speaking on the enforcement of IPR law, Ms. Danilova pointed out that only 900 IPR-related criminal cases were brought forward in 1999, compared with 3,500 in 2003 and 2,100 in the first four months of 2004. She noted that these figures do not represent an increase in IPR violations, but rather reflect greater success in the enforcement of Russian law.

CIPR President Peter Necarsulmer, who moderated the discussion, also emphasized that Russia's IPR progress can be attributed to important factors such as CIPR's and others' on-the-ground work with policymakers, as well as efforts to build a domestic consituency in Russia to advocate for IP protection.

"CIPR's work in 15 countries demonstrates that, without on-the-ground cooperation and the active involvement of the private sector, the threat and implementation of sanctions can be counterproductive as an incentive for countries to adopt more effective IPR legislation and enforcement," said Necalsumer. "CIPR and all of our members hope that the new dialogue between the Russian and U.S. governments will acknowledge this and focus on the progress Russia is making in IPR protection and the work that remains to be done."

According to CIPR U.S. Representative Paul Nathanson, "There was great interest in the Russian delegation because for many U.S. business and government leaders, the visit was the first opportunity since Russia 's government restructuring to meet face-to-face with Russia 's new leaders responsible for intellectual property protection and enforcement. We were honored to play a role in this visit."