El 'caso Odyssey'
Cable en el que se ofrece solucionar el 'caso Odyssey' a cambio del 'pissarro'
La legación estadounidense quería que los dos asuntos se resolviesen de manera favorable a las relaciones bilaterales entre ambos países
| ID: | 160421 |
| Date: | 2008-07-02 09:21:00 |
| Origin: | 08MADRID724 |
| Source: | Embassy Madrid |
| Classification: | UNCLASSIFIED |
| Dunno: | |
| Destination: | VZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHMD #0724/01 1840921 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 020921Z JUL 08 FM AMEMBASSY MADRID TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5015 |
UNCLAS MADRID 000724 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/OHI (JKENNEDY;JBECKER) STATE FOR EEB/IPE (JURBAN) STATE FOR EUR/WE, OES, L/OES STATE PASS USTR (DWEINER) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, PBTS, PHSA, SCUL, SP SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH MINISTER OF CULTURE 1. (U) Summary: Ambassador met with Minister of Culture Cesar Antonio Molina on 6/30/08. The minister told the Ambassador that he was willing to meet with the claimant or his representative in a Nazi art loot case. The minister emphasized he was willing to continue to fight intellectual property rights (IPR) piracy. He was also clearly following the Odyssey case closely and made it clear that the GOS would exercise all of its legal options. The minister discussed cultural cooperation with the U.S. as well. End Summary PARTICIPANTS ------------ 2. (U) The minister was accompanied by Cultural Industries Policy Director General Guillermo Corral van Damme. The Ambassador was accompanied by EconOff. CASSIRER CLAIM -------------- 3. (U) The Ambassador stressed the USG's interest in direct discussions between the Spanish government and Claude Cassirer, the AmCit claimant of a painting by Camille Pisarro ("Rue St. Honore") in the Thyssen Museum. The Ambassador noted also that while the Odyssey and Cassirer claim were on separate legal tracks, it was in both governments' interest to avail themselves of whatever margin for manuever they had, consistent with their legal obligations, to resolve both matters in a way that favored the bilateral relationship. The minister listened carefully to the Ambassador's message, but he put the accent on the separateness of the issues. Molina said that no Spanish government could return the painting (if this is what the claimant wants). To begin with, while the minister presides over the board that manages the Thyssen Museum's collection, the minister could not oblige the board to return the painting without a (Spanish) legal judgment. The minister added that paying compensation, as the British government has reportedly done in a number of cases, also posed legal problems. Director General van Damme said, however, that perhaps the Spanish government had "sinned" (pecado) in not meeting with the claimant or his representative. The minister said that he was willing to meet with the claimant or his representative in connection with a trip to Washington, D.C. in September or October this year. IPR --- 4. (U) The minister emphasized that he remains committed to fighting piracy. He said that on July 10, he would preside over the Spanish government's inter-ministerial anti-piracy coordinating body. Van Damme said that this meeting would serve to "relaunch efforts" to fight piracy. The Ambassador noted that the USG had waited a number of years to place Spain on the Special 301 Watch List, but that this year, continued alarming internet piracy levels had precipitated the Watch List decision. Having said that, the Ambassador also praised recent vigorous enforcement actions, for instance the arrests of 32 suspected Chinese DVD and CD pirates. The Ambassador noted that the subsequent press conference, in which the minister said that Spaniards should not buy pirated products because such products harmed culture, was especially significant. Both the minister and director general emphasized the importance of the internet. Van Damme said it was especially important to create attractive business models for selling content on-line. The Ambassador suggested that the minister meet with IPR and internet service provider representatives when he travels to Washington this fall, and he agreed to do so. ODYSSEY ------- 5. (U) The minister explained that one of the reasons for his September or October Washington trip was to meet with the law firm the Spanish government has retained in the Odyssey case. The minister added that he was following the court proceedings in Tampa, Florida closely. He expressed indignation at a recent CNN interview of Odyssey CEO Greg Stemm who indicated that he would be willing to keep the gold coins found at the salvage site and return items of purely archeological interest. The Ambassador explained that the USG was cognizant of its international law responsibilities in these kinds of salvage cases and that American government lawyers would study carefully the legal implications and obligations arising from the Tampa court's decisions. CULTURAL COOPERATION -------------------- 6. (U) The minister and the director general expressed great enthusiasm for cultural cooperation with the U.S. in general and Washington, D.C. in particular. With respect to Washington, for instance, the minister talked about Spanish support for an exhibition of 1970s and 80s art. He also talked about a more ambitious project, a "museum of "Latin" art (not clear where this would be, but he did talk about a "museum", not just a one-off exhibit). This would be separate from Ambassador Westendorp's (Spain's ambassador to the U.S.) idea of using the former Spanish Ambassador's residence in the Washington for some form of cultural repository. COMMENT ------- 7. (U) The minister's expressed willingness to meet with Claude Cassirer or his representative is a modest step forward. We will remind the minister of this commitment whem he finalizes his Washington travel plans. With respect to IPR, we think the minister is sincere in his desire to combat piracy. Our challenge as an Embassy is to find ways to convince the GOS and stakeholders (especially the ISPs) that action against internet piracy cannot be held hostage to the mantra that "new business models" are required in this area. They certainly are necessary and desirable (both for ISPs and content providers). However, action against piracy may, in some cases, be necessary to make those models feasible. AGUIRRE |
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