WikiLeaks cable shows US twisting arm of Bosnian government to license software from Microsoft

From this WikiLeaks cable: a current example of arm-twisting by the US to push our IP standards on developing countries, for the benefit of powerful American corporate IP interests (see also Intellectual Property Imperialism; Wikileaks cables reveal that the US wrote Spain’s proposed copyright laws, Intellectual Property Appears to Figure Prominently In Wikileaks Cablegate, The Economist on Patents and Innovation in China, and China and Intellectual Property).

VZCZCXRO9784
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVJ #1879 3531507
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181507Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9419
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0085
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 001879 

SIPDIS 

COMMERCE FOR 4232/ITA/MAC/EUR (BURGESS AND SAVICH) 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USTR (MORROW, YANG) 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, EEB/IPE, EUR/PPD (HANNAN), 
EUR/PPD-PA,IIP/S 
TREASURY FOR LINDQUIST 
COMMERCE PLEASE PASS TO MCCAFFREY AND SMITH AT USPTO 
JUSTICE FOR CARL ALEXANDRE 
MOSCOW FOR REGIONAL IPR ATTACHE 

E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECIN KIPR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA: MICROSOFT AND PM SPIRIC SIGN STRATEGIC 
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT 

REF: SARAJEVO 1351 

¶1. On December 18, the BiH Council of Ministers and Microsoft finally signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement for access to legal Microsoft applications for all state-level government ministries.  Prime Minister Nikola Spiric signed 
the agreement on behalf of the BiH Government.  The agreement 
obligates the BiH Government to use licensed software, but is 
only the first step in strengthening the state government's 
intellectual property regime.  Microsoft will now begin 
negotiations with BiH to purchase licenses for the software 
applications under the state's purview.  This marks a huge success for the U.S. Embassy, which has been working with state-level officials for three years to push for action to ban pirated and unlicensed software from ministry offices. 
(Note: Federation and RS-entity governments signed separate 
strategic partnership agreements with Microsoft in 2006.  End 
note.) 
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