Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Google provides some slapdown on who really serves DMCA notices
19 Mar, 2009: The InquisitrGoogle notes that more than half (57%) of the takedown notices it has received under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998, were sent by business targeting competitors and over one third (37%) of notices were not valid copyright claims. ...
Canada Favours Early Release of ACTA Text
14 Mar, 2009: Knowledge Ecology International, Geneva, Switzerland, London, UK and Washington, DC, USAWhile the U.S. claims that ACTA documents are a matter of national security and the European Parliament demands greater transparency, it would appear that the Canadian delegation would favour an early release of the draft treaty. ...
Who are the cleared advisors that have access to secret ACTA documents?
14 Mar, 2009: Michael Geist, Ottawa, ON, CanadaHundreds of advisors, many of them corporate lobbyists, are considered “cleared advisors.” They have access to the ACTA documents. ...
Obama Administration Says Treaty Text Is State Secret
13 Mar, 2009: PC World, San Francisco, CA, USAThe USTR this week denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Knowledge Ecology International, an intellectual-property research and advocacy group, even though Obama, in one of his first presidential memos, directed that agencies be more forthcoming with information requested by the public. ...
Obama Administration Rules Texts of New IPR Agreement are State Secrets
12 Mar, 2009: The Huffington Post, New York, NY, USAThe texts are available to the Japanese government. They are available to the 27 member states of the European Union. They are available to the governments of Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia. They are available to Morocco, and many other countries. They are available to "cleared" advisers (mostly well connected lobbyists) for the pharmaceutical, software, entertainment and publishing industries. But they are a secret from you, the public. ...
European parliament votes for greater ACTA transparency
11 Mar, 2009: The Georgia Straight, Vancouver, BC, CanadaThe European Parliament has voted for a proposal to bring more transparency and public access to documents. The resolution includes specific language about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. ...
ACTA draft leaks: nonprofit P2P faces criminal penalties
04 Feb, 2009: Techdirt.comBased on sources and leaked documents, Knowledge Ecology International now asserts that ACTA drafts are in fact "formally available to cleared corporate lobbyists and informally distributed to corporate lawyers and lobbyists in Europe, Japan, and the US." ... the ACTA proposals currently include language that would make copyright infringement on a "commercial scale," even when done with "no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain," into a criminal matter. ...
Details emerge of secret ACTA negotiation
03 Feb, 2009: Knowledge Ecology International, Geneva, Switzerland, London, UK and Washington, DC, USAThe USTR is still maintaining secrecy over details of the negotiation, including the names of participants and all of the proposed texts for negotiations. Despite this, KEI has obtained some documents related to the negotiations. We can report the following ...
Putting Together the ACTA Puzzle: Privacy, P2P Major Targets
03 Feb, 2009: Michael Geist, Ottawa, ON, CanadaThe proposed treaty appears to have six main chapters: (1) Initial Provisions and Definitions; (2) Enforcement of IPR; (3) International Cooperation; (4) Enforcement Practices; (5) Institutional Arrangements; and (6) Final Provisions. Most of the discussion to date has centred on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights chapter. ...
Sunlight sought for shady trade agreement
02 Feb, 2009: betanewsThe Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge have issued a call for some of that fabled new-adminstration transparency for the notorious Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), asking that background documents on the agreement be released as per the Freedom of Information Act. ...
EFF and Public Knowledge v. USTR, Significant Documents Released Under FOIA [Freedom of Information Act]
Jan, 2009: Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USA and Public Knowledge, Washington, DC, USAEFF and Public Knowledge filed suit on September 17, 2008 against the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), demanding information about a secret intellectual property enforcement treaty that the government has put on a fast track to completion. ...
EFF and Public Knowledge v. USTR, All Documents Released Under FOIA [Freedom of Information Act]
Jan, 2009: Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USA and Public Knowledge, Washington, DC, USAEFF and Public Knowledge filed suit on September 17, 2008 against the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), demanding information about a secret intellectual property enforcement treaty that the government has put on a fast track to completion. ...
US Using Bogus Excuses For Denying Access To ACTA Documents
30 Jan, 2009: Techdirt.comAnd here's another bit of "transparency" that's just as lacking in the new administration as the last. For months, those of us concerned about backroom deals on intellectual property treaties bypassing an open legislative process have been demanding more sunlight on negotiations around ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. ...
Groups: US gov't still withholding treaty information
29 Jan, 2009: NetworkWorld.com, MA, USAThe Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has withheld more than 1,300 pages on an anticounterfeiting trade agreement being quietly negotiated after two digital rights groups filed a request for information, the groups said. ...
Canada's Private ACTA Talking Points
29 Jan, 2009: Michael Geist, Ottawa, ON, CanadaWhile the Canadian government has dutifully followed the U.S. line on ACTA with bland releases following each of the four 2008 negotiation sessions, newly obtained documents under the Access to Information Act reveal that the Canadian delegation may be speaking out ...
First Round of Negotiations Relating to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
28 Jan, 2009 (released to public via Access to Information Act): The Canadian Delegation, Canadian GovernmentThe Canadian Delegation (CanDel) to the meeting will be DFIAT/TMI/Douglas George(Head)/David Norris; IC/Raquel Fragoso Peters; Justice-CBSA/Chris Nelligan; and CBSA/Shirley Liang. ...
Competitive answer to recession?
19 Jan, 2009: Pacific Shipper, New Jersey, USAChamber of Commerce offers 14-point proposal on global trade. ... “Governments must work together to raise standards for the protection of IP in the Anti-Counterfeiting and Trade Agreement and by enforcing IP provisions in U.S. trade agreements. ...
ACTA as an Example of Democrats Non-Transparent and Anti-Democratic Corporate Agenda
14 Jan, 2009: The Huffington Post, New York, NY, USAOne example where the Democrats have been a huge disappointment concerns a trade agreement being negotiated on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. It is a massive, ambitious and far reaching negotiation, that is being held in complete secrecy. ...
EU Conceals Anti-Piracy Treaty Documents
14 Jan, 2009: TorrentFreak.comThe degree of secrecy surrounding the ACTA negotiations is astonishing. Many institutions, the press and various individuals have requested that the participating countries provide an insight into their plans, but to no avail. It almost seems they are actively blocking the public from having their say, while in contrast they continue to receive input from anti-piracy lobbyists such as the RIAA and MPAA. ...
INTA Hoping To Work With The Obama Administration
12 Jan, 2009: UC Daily News, TN, USAThe International Trademark Association (INTA) today releases its letter to the Obama Presidential Transition Team, which highlights the critically important issues that brand owners and consumers will face in 2009 and beyond. ...
The Chamber's Agenda
05 Jan, 2009: Shipping Digest, Newark, NJ, USAAs President-elect Barack Obama and his advisers worked on their strategy for the new administration, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued its agenda on international business issues just before the holidays. ...
ACTA Negotiations Will Continue into 2009
23 Dec, 2008: ZeroPaid, San Deigo, CA, USAACTA negotiations will continue it's usual secrecy into 2009 after wrapping up in Paris. Reportedly, they will continue negotiations in Morocco. ...
Secret International Copyright Treaty Delayed
22 Dec, 2008: IncGamers.com, UK“[The ECA] together with the Consumer Electronics Association, the US Internet Industry Association, Intel, Yahoo, Verizon and others, sent a memo asking the [U.S. Trade Representative] to carefully consider that any discussions of “Internet issues” in ACTA be carefully circumscribed, consistent with U.S. law, and not include any portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).” ...
No ACTA Deal Yet As EU Parliament Seeks Narrower Scope, More Transparency
20 Dec, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandAs negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) continued in Paris this week with again no public details the European Parliament Thursday sent a strong signal by requesting transparency in the negotiations. ...
Paris ACTA meetings wrap up; we're safe until March 2009
19 Dec, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USANegotiations on the controversial and largely secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) race ever onward, but the process isn't moving quite as fast as proponents had hoped. No deal will now happen before the end of the year, nor before a new US administration takes the reins in late January. ...
Trade and Intellectual Property December 15-17, 2008 - Meeting in Paris, France
18 Dec, 2008: Foreign Affairs and International Trade CanadaParticipants reaffirmed their goal to combat global infringements of IPR, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves. ...
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) (Outline of the December Meeting)
18 Dec, 2008: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JapanParticipants reaffirmed their goal to combat global infringements of IPR, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves. ...
Internet Governance Forum: ACTA A Possible Show-Stopper For IP Progress
14 Dec, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandThe proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) intended to align governments in their fights against illicit trade, might have the effect of stopping more positive developments in intellectual property law that emerged over the last year, warned Eddan Katz, international affairs director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. ...
US Technology, IP Industries Offer Policy Wish Lists For Obama
12 Dec, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandThe United States Chamber of Commerce is calling on President-Elect Barack Obama to fill key intellectual property enforcement posts within the first 100 days of taking office. Meanwhile, other trade associations also have delineated their wishes on IP, innovation and technology, with one calling for a drastic shift away from heavy-handed IP protection. ...
EU defends negotiations over the ACTA anti-piracy treaty
12 Dec, 2008: Heise Online, GermanyIn a recently expanded information paper on the planned international anti-piracy treaty (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), the European Commission confronts, sometimes harsh, criticism of its secret negotiations. ...
What the MPAA wants from Obama: 3 strikes, Canada crackdown
10 Dec, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USAThe Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has supplied its political wish list to the Obama transition team, and thanks to new transition team policies, that means the MPAA has shared its agenda with everyone on the Internet. ...
MPAA’s Key International Trade Issues
08 Dec, 2008: change.gov, The Office of the President-ElectOne of MPAA's top priorities is attacking Internet piracy, through vigorous investigation and enforcement worldwide ...
EU denies ACTA document request; democracy undermined?
03 Nov, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USAACTA is a so-called "trade agreement". While technically it is therefore not a legislative proposal, its acceptance will nonetheless lead to legislative and executive obligations for the undersigning parties. Hence, indirectly it will have the same effect as a legislative proposal. Simply calling it differently and using different negotiation procedures cannot be used as an excuse in a democratic society to get around all transparency principles and requirements of said society. ...
Government Keeps ACTA Consultation Results Under Wraps
03 Nov, 2008: Michael Geist, Ottawa, ON, CanadaThe documents confirm that two countries - the United States and Japan - have emerged as the primary supporters and drafters of the treaty. Countries have met three times in recent months to discuss elements of the treaty with those two countries providing draft treaty language to the other participants just prior to the formal meeting. ...
FFII opposes stealth legislation, demands ACTA documents
03 Nov, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USABrussels, 3rd November 2008 - The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) has requested 12 secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) documents from the EU Council. Behind closed doors, the EU, US, Japan and other countries are negotiating ACTA. The negotiating parties plan on making the ACTA text public only after the parties have agreed to it. ...
Canadian wish list for secret ACTA treaty long, varied
03 Nov, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USAWhile the document lays out the various ACTA requests, it won't say who made them—a good thing for whatever stakeholder hopes to use ACTA to shove a "three strikes and you're off the Internet" copyright rule into Canadian law. ...
Analysis Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement - FFII
02 Nov, 2008: Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII), Brussels, BelgiumBehind closed doors the EU, US, Japan and other countries negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). A leaked discussion paper mentions types of provisions that could be included. According to the European Commission's website, a "path breaking" agreement is foreseen. For this reason the Commission likes to work outside the normal formal structures. Indeed, the leaked document contains unprecedented measures. ...
European Commission's Updated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Fact Sheet
Nov, 2008: European CommissionNegotiations on a new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) were launched in 2007. The negotiations are still ongoing. There is, at this stage, no agreed text. ...
Open Letter to World Customs Organization Concerning Increased Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
28 Oct, 2008: IP Justice et al.We the undersigned public interest groups and individuals are writing to raise our concerns about recent developments in the World Customs Organisation, in particular the setting of intellectual property enforcement standards that go beyond the TRIPS agreement (TRIPS plus) in the SECURE Working Group, the lack of dialogue with, and involvement of public interest organisations in the standard setting process and the lack of transparency surrounding the Working Group’s work. ...
Cautionary Letter on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) from US Senators Leahy and Specter to US Trade Representative (USTR)
02 Oct, 2008: US Senators Patrick Leahy & Arlen SpecterWe are concerned, however, that the ACTA under consideration will prescribe rules for protection so specifically that it could impede Congress's ability to make constructive policy changes in the future. ...
Secret ACTA treaty emerges blinking into the sunlight
24 Sep, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USABut digital rights groups, ISPs, and consumer electronics firms remain wary of the process in large part because of proposals floated by rightsholders earlier this year. The EFF's comments, filed a week ago, are concerned about proposals to terminate the Internet access of "repeat infringers," the proposed monitoring of Internet communications, and the possible mandatory disclosure of subscriber data without a subpoena. ...
Digital Rights Groups Go to Court Over Secret Anti-Piracy Treaty
23 Sep, 2008: GamePolitics.com, Wilton, CT, USAHal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has also expressed concern about ACTA: Because ECA supports the balance that must exist between the rights of copyright owners and the right of copyrighted material consumers, we do not think it wise to include any portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) ...
ACTA provisions on Injunctions and Damages: Will the European EPAs or ACTA restrict or outlaw TRIPS Part III compulsory licenses?
21 Sep, 2008: Knowledge Ecology International, Geneva, Switzerland, London, UK and Washington, DC, USAOne of the most important developments in patent law has been the growth of compulsory licenses in the United States, following the 2006 eBay Supreme Court Decision. Now nearly every proceeding to enforce a patent in the United States is a possible compulsory licensing case ...
Coalition of Technology Companies and Digital Rights Groups Comment on ACTA to USTR
18 Sep, 2008: American Association of Law Libraries, Intel Corporation, American Library Association, Internet Commerce Coalition, Association of Research Libraries, Knowledge Ecology International, Center for Democracy & Technology, Medical Library Association, Computer & Communications Industry Association, NetCoalition, Consumer Electronics Association, Public Knowledge, Digital Future Coalition, Special Libraries Association, Entertainment Consumers Association, US Internet Industry Association, Home Recording Rights Coalition Verizon, Information Technology Association of America, Yahoo! Inc., IP JusticeWe understand that one idea under discussion is the possible inclusion of an abbreviated form of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act into ACTA. Given the complexity of Section 512, and the delicately arrived-at compromise contained in that Section, we think it ill-advised to include this (or any other) provision of the DMCA in the Agreement in the first place. ...
U.S. Trade Office Withholds Documents on Secret IP Enforcement Treaty
18 Sep, 2008: Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USAWashington, D.C. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Public Knowledge have filed suit against the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), demanding information about a secret intellectual property enforcement treaty that the government has put on a fast track to completion. ...
Comments Submitted by Google Inc. [to the USTR] Regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
17 Sep, 2008: Google Inc.Internet companies and other intermediaries, like Google, telecom companies and ISPs more generally, do not engage in counterfeiting and piracy; they are legitimate businesses critical to the U.S. economy. To impose potential liability and obligations on them, or to dictate terms of substantive intellectual property law that affect Internet intermediaries, is shooting at the wrong target, potentially contrary to U.S. law, and in any event not appropriate subject matter for an Executive agreement not submitted to the Congress. ...
Electronic Frontier Foundation Second Submission to Office of The United States Trade Representative on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
17 Sep, 2008: Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USAEFF remains deeply concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the contents of the proposed Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ...
Secret Counterfeiting Treaty Public Must be Made Public, Global Organizations Say
15 Sep, 2008: Essential Action et al.More than 100 public interest organizations from around the world today called on officials from the countries negotiating Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) -- the United States, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand -- to publish immediately the draft text of the agreement. Secrecy around the treaty negotiation has fueled concerns that its terms will undermine vital consumer interests. ...
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: Fact or Fiction?
15 Sep, 2008: Wired MagazineThere's been speculation for months concerning the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. If ratified, many suggest it would criminalize peer-to-peer file sharing, subject iPods to border searches and allow internet service providers to monitor their customers' communications. ...
Statement on ACTA to USTR from US Tech Trade Associations and Companies
07 Aug, 2008: Amazon.com, AT&T, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Consumer Electronics Association, eBay Inc., Information Technology Association of America, Internet Commerce Coalition, NetCoalition, U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, USTelecom Association, Verizon Communications, Yahoo! Inc.Recent intellectual property law decisions by European courts will have the effect of preventing U.S. Internet companies and other intermediaries from competing fairly in the European market. By increasing the potential liability of Internet companies and intermediaries worldwide, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) could worsen this pernicious trend. ...
Another Critical ACTA Leak Surfaces
01 Aug, 2008: ZeroPaid, San Deigo, CA, USAWhile it may only be three pages long, there are many revealing things about this leak. The leak confirms what is already known. For instance, the document says that businesses are demanding that border security should be significantly ramped up to keep a better eye on copyright infringement. ...
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Public Comments Vol. 1-4
Jul, 2008: Office of the United States Trade RepresentativeLEAKED: “Business Perspectives on Border Measures and Civil Enforcement”
29 Jul, 2008: IP Justice, San Francisco, CA, USALeaked Industry-Lobbyist Memo to ACTA Negotiators From "Concerned Business Groups in ACTA Nations" at 2nd Round of Secret Trade Negotiations in Washington, DC from 29-31 July 2008. ...
Public left out of anti-counterfeiting trade talks
28 Jul, 2008: Toronto Star, Ontario, CanadaAccording to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act and reported here for the first time, the government has been crafting an Intellectual Property and Trade Advisory Group. The initial plans for membership in the group were limited exclusively to 12 government departments and 14 industry lobby groups. These include the Canadian Recording Industry Association, the Canadian Motion Picture and Distributors Association, and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada. ...
ACTA copyright negotiations demand scrutiny
23 Jul, 2008: Scoop Sci-Tech Independent News, New ZealandACTA seeks to impose a raft of enforcement measures which have the potential to further erode citizens’ fair-use rights in respect of digital copyrighted material. For instance, a global legal regime for Internet distribution of copyright protected works may be introduced. ...
Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Library Copyright Alliance, NetCoalition Comments to USTR on ACTA
23 Jul, 2008: CCIA, LCI, NetCoalitionWhile the U.S. Copyright Act does allow copyright owners to seek statutory damages instead of actual damages and profits, the high upper limit on such damages ($30,000 per work infringed, increasing to $150,000 in cases of willful infringement) has enabled copyright owners to seek, and courts to grant, draconian awards grossly in excess of any actual harm. ...
ACTA Negotiations to Continue Next Week
23 Jul, 2008: ZeroPaid, San Deigo, CA, USAWhile ACTA is known for many things (most of which negative) it's, above all, known to be very secretive. ... if the demands by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are anything to go by, physical piracy might end up being merely a moral cover for what is really going on. ...
Europe May Put ACTA Back On Faster Track
16 Jul, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandDespite earlier statements by European negotiators that the planned Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) would need time for fine-tuning, nations seem to accept a fast track movement now. ...
Submission to the Ministry of Economic Development on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
14 Jul, 2008: InternetNZ, New ZealandInternetNZ believes that in the copyright domain, the protection of the interests of rights holders needs to be balanced by robust fair-use provisions to protect freedom of speech and the innovation that the Internet in part allows. Recent amendments to copyright law in New Zealand, in our view, unduly favour rights holders’ interests at the expense of the interests of citizens in their regular use of information and communications technologies. ...
The right to peer inside your iPod
10 Jul, 2008: The Guardian, UKAn agreement on intellectual property rights to be ratified by the G8 heads of government highlights conflicts between ownership and privacy. ...
G8, Interpol may police our mobile phones
10 Jul, 2008: TechRadar.com, UKThe proposed Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will, of course, increase the pressure on ISPs to cut off their own customers, but it is likely to also target "mobile phone sharing," according to the press release. ... Even more ominously, Interpol is getting involved too, although its involvement will initially be directed at large-scale copying of tangible goods. ...
G8 states want anti-piracy treaty by year end
10 Jul, 2008: Heise Online, GermanyIn addition to ACTA, the G8 governmental heads also praised the standards recently adopted for the enforcement of intellectual property – Standards to be Employed by Customs for Uniform Rights Enforcement (SECURE). Sell says that the standards of the World Customs Organisation already represent a major step towards the expansion of the rights of customs officials. As she put it, customs officials no longer need hard evidence before they press charges, and they are also authorised to impose harsh penalties....
PhRMA comments to USTR on ACTA: ISP Liability, Parallel Trade and Generic APIs
10 Jul, 2008: Knowledge Ecology International, Geneva, Switzerland, London, UK and Washington, DC, USAPhRMA asks that ACTA “Establish liability for Internet Service Providers and Other Operators that Facilitate Trade in Counterfeit Medical Products.” This is potentially quite an important and controversial recommendation. PhRMA wants to make telecommunications companies liable if one of their customers sells counterfeit products. ...
PhRMA comments to USTR on ACTA
09 Jul, 2008: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of AmericaEstablish liability for Internet Service Providers and Other Operators that Facilitate Trade in Counterfeit Medical Products. Recommendation: Expressly prohibit online activities that directly or indirectly facilitate trade in counterfeit medical products and provide legal incentives for ISPs and online intermediaries to cooperate with legitimate manufacturers in combating counterfeiting activities.
...
G8 aims its guns at 'cellphone piracy'
09 Jul, 2008: New Scientist Magazine, US, UK, AustraliaJoin a few dots and you can see where this is heading: it's not only ISPs that will be monitoring their users for copyright infringement, but also cellphone networks. There won't be single digital thing you can do that someone, somewhere won't be monitoring. When will copyright holders realise that getting companies to attack their own customers is very, very bad business? ...
G8 Nations ACTA Up
09 Jul, 2008: Globe & Mail, CanadaConsidering how quiet Ottawa has been recently on the subject of its hotly denounced revisions to the Copyright Act, it is still in lock-step with the G8 nations on another subject that should be of equal — if not greater — controversy. ...
G8 Governments Want ACTA Finalized This Year, SPLT Talks Accelerated
09 Jul, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandThe eight leaders in their document on the “World Economy” called for finalising negotiations of the much-debated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) by the end of the year and also declared patent harmonisation a topic of high importance, asking for “accelerated discussions of the Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT)". ...
G8 Declaration on the World Economy
08 Jul, 2008: The White House, USAWe encourage the acceleration of negotiations to establish a new international legal framework, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and seek to complete the negotiation by the end of this year. ...
Report of Discussions: G8 Intellectual Property Experts' Group Meeting
07 Jul, 2008: G8 Intellectual Property Experts GroupWe, the members of the G8 Intellectual Property Experts’ Group, convened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo on 19 February and 10 April to discuss, building on the results achieved under the British, Russian and German presidencies, concrete measures towards realizing a well-functioning and efficient intellectual property (IP) system and for combating counterfeiting and piracy. Below are the results of these discussions ...
Making punishment fit the crime
07 Jul, 2008: BBC News, UKRegular columnist Bill Thompson asks how severely we should punish those who infringe copyright. ...
Internet Privacy Coming to an End?
07 Jul, 2008: Web Hosting News, UKThe ACTA, which was shrouded in secrecy until a leaked summary of the agreement appeared on the internet last month, has sparked widespread opposition as many worry about the prospect of a trade deal that could lead to invasive searches of personal computers and increased surveillance of online activities. ...
Global treaty promises hard times for file sharers
03 Jul, 2008: New Scientist Magazine, US, UK, AustraliaIT SOUNDS much like any other yawn-inducing cross-border treaty. But the nascent Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that's on the table at this week's G8 meeting in Japan may have far-reaching consequences. If it becomes international law, anyone who offers copyrighted files over the internet or downloads them may be labelled a criminal and forcibly disconnected from the net. ...
G8 summit aims to stop piracy once and for all
03 Jul, 2008: Custom PC, UKWhile the headlines surrounding next week’s G8 summit mostly concern climate change and development in Africa, there’s also a new international plan for piracy measures being discussed, which could have a dramatic effect on international file sharing. ...
European Generic Medicines Association Position Paper
Jun, 2008: EGMA, Brussels, Belgium...the EGA has major concerns that the common enforcement practices proposed by ACTA in order to promote strong intellectual property rights could be misapplied and misused by intellectual property holders against legitimate competition in the areas of patents. ...
RIAA's ACTA wishlist includes gutted DMCA, mandatory filters
30 Jun, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USAThe RIAA's points, taken in tandem, seem aimed at gutting the best part of the DMCA (yes, it wasn't all bad), the "safe harbor" rules that gave ISPs immunity from material passing through their networks. In the RIAA's world, ISPs would themselves become filters and enforcers, cutting off users and immediately removing access to material based simply on a phone call. ...
ACTA: Turning ISPs into enforcers
30 Jun, 2008: LA Times Blogs, Los Angeles, CA, USAMuch more problematic is the RIAA's wish list for online enforcement. The suggestions would seem to shift the legal ground in favor of copyright holders on issues that remain in dispute in U.S. courts, and possibly on a few that have been settled here or in other countries. Two examples of the latter are suggestions to make manufacturers liable for products and services whose "predominant application" is aiding piracy -- a more onerous standard than the one the Supreme Court laid out in the Sony Betamax case -- and to insure that copyright holders have access to the data they need from ISPs to bring lawsuits -- a potential conflict with some European court rulings. ...
Laptop Searches in Airports Draw Fire at Senate Hearing
26 Jun, 2008: New York Times, NY, USAWASHINGTON — Advocacy groups and some legal experts told Congress on Wednesday that it was unreasonable for federal officials to search the laptops of United States citizens when they re-enter the country from traveling abroad. ...
EFF Demands Investigation for Suspicionless Digital Searches at Border
26 Jun, 2008: ZeroPaid, San Deigo, CA, USAOne of the ideas behind ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) is the idea that you can have your iPod, laptop, or any other digital device searched, confiscated and destroyed based on suspicion alone. It might not come as a surprise that the country that proposed this kind of activity is also practicing it on their own citizens - but it has digital rights activists deeply concerned regardless. ...
US academic exposes IP maximalists' TRIPS-Plus-Plus agenda Published in SUNS #6499
24 Jun, 2008: Third World NetworkGeneva, 18 Jun (Sangeeta Shashikant) -- Proponents of a "maximalist agenda" on intellectual property have launched a major, almost surreptitious, campaign to increase IP protection and enforcement far beyond the standards set in the WTO, in ways that are "TRIPS-Plus-Plus", according to a recent paper by a senior academic. ...
Seizing Laptops and Cameras Without Cause: A controversial customs practice creates a legal backlash
24 Jun, 2008: US News & World Report, Washington D.C., New York, NY, USAReturning from a vacation to Germany in February, freelance journalist Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. Agents searched his luggage, he said, "then they told me that they were impounding my laptop." ...
TV, film and music companies should get smart
19 Jun, 2008: The Age, AustraliaLast month a draft document titled Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement appeared on the internet. It proposes a draconian response to copyright infringement, including the right to search laptops and iPods for illegally copied music or video files and the imposition of "deterrent-level penalties". ...
Is the Indian Drug Controller Participating in the ACTA Negotiations?
19 Jun, 2008: Spicy IP, IndiaPursuant to our post lamenting the "secrecy" with which the ACTA (Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) negotiations were shrouded, an anonymous source writes to inform us thus: "I am afraid that the new Indian Drugs Controller General is being briefed about the Treaty , its objectives etc as he has been (unlike any before him) invited to Canada and USA....
ACTA Rejects the Market in Favor of Corporate Welfare
16 Jun, 2008: Aaron Shaw, San Francisco, CA, USAMake no mistake: ACTA is an attempt to take corporate welfare for the copyright and trademark industries to a global level. As such, it threatens the wealth, welfare, and stability of the global political economy. ...
Public will be consulted on copyright policing plan
16 Jun, 2008: The Industry Standard, San Francisco, CA, USAThe New Zealand public will be consulted on the controversial international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), details of which were leaked on the whistleblower website wikileaks.org. ...
Opposing Lack of Transparency in IP: KEI and Michael Geist on the ACTA
15 Jun, 2008: Spicy IP, IndiaReaders will recollect a post by Swaraj Barooah on the controversial anti counterfeiting treaty. SpicyIP is vehemently opposed to any move that flouts principles of transparency in such a heinous manner. This treaty is being negotiated behind closed doors by a handful of trade representatives from the US, EU etc. It has no developing country representation ...
Clandestine IP treaty being drafted
13 Jun, 2008: Spicy IP, IndiaWhat’s more worrying is that the current draft allows for the ‘locking’ of this text once these negotiations are complete. Countries that are later ‘invited’ (read as ‘arm-twisted’) into joining the pact will not be able to re-negotiate the biased terms of the treaty. ...
Canada participates in international effort to fight counterfeit products
13 Jun, 2008: The Canadian Press, CanadaOTTAWA — Critics are calling on Ottawa to be more transparent about Canada's role in talks on an international deal to fight counterfeit products, which could see more pirated goods seized at the border. ...
ACTA Negotiations Move Forward Amid Controversy
11 Jun, 2008: Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, Geneva, SwitzerlandDelegations from twelve nations and the European Union (EU) met in Geneva on 3-4 June to discuss the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), an agreement that proposes to strengthen the level of intellectual property enforcement standards related to goods and services....
Trade agreement could hit privacy
10 Jun, 2008: BBC News, UKSince the announcement, most governments have tried hard to keep the negotiations below the public's radar screen. Both the US and Canadian governments launched public consultations earlier this year that revealed little about the form or substance of the proposed treaty. ...
Digital copyright: it's all wrong
10 Jun, 2008: Sydney Morning Herald, AustraliaA draft treaty proposes draconian measures to protect copyright. THE forces of reaction are fighting back. As they often do, they are carrying out their planning in secret, in the knowledge that if more people knew of their activities they would not be allowed to get away with it. ...
Transatlantic Economic Council Report to the EU-U.S. Summit 2008
10 Jun, 2008: The White House, USA1.2.1. Intellectual Property Rights ... In addition, the United States and the European Union are working together and with other trading partners to negotiate a strong Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which they will seek to conclude by the end of 2008. ...
The Global IP Upward Ratchet, Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Enforcement Efforts: The State of Play
09 Jun, 2008: Susan K. Sell - Director, Institute for Global and International Studies - Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington UniversityProponents of an IP maximalist agenda increasingly have been rebuffed in recent years. Developing country governments, NGOs, and Access to Knowledge (A2K) advocates have thwarted their efforts to ratchet up standards of intellectual property protection in multilateral intergovernmental forums ...
Government Should Lift Veil on ACTA Secrecy
09 Jun, 2008: Michael Geist, Ottawa, ON, CanadaMy weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which was shrouded in secrecy until a leaked summary of the agreement appeared on the Internet last month, and which has sparked widespread opposition as Canadians worry about the prospect of a trade deal that could lead to invasive searches of personal computers and increased surveillance of online activities. ...
The Future of Copyright
09 Jun, 2008: Cato Unbound, Washington, D.C., USAHow relevant is it to declare oneself to be “for” or “against” copyright? Neither the stabilization nor the abolition of the copyright system seems within reach. All we see is a seemingly endless assembly line of new extensions to the law being proposed and enacted. ...
ICC Targets Ministers to Advance IP Protection at G8 Summit
08 Jun, 2008: ag-IP News Agency, Amman, JordanPARIS - The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has called upon G8 Justice Ministers and G8 Foreign Ministers to advocate measures for better Intellectual Property (IP) protection during the G8 Summit in Hokkaido Toyako, Japan next month, a press release by the ICC stated. ... “This year, we’re targeting the justice and foreign ministers more closely responsible for implementing and enforcing Intellectual Property laws, ...
Frequently Asked Questions on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
06 Jun, 2008: Foreign Affairs and International Trade CanadaThe proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) aims to establish new global standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) to more effectively combat the increasingly prolific trade in counterfeit and pirated goods. The ACTA would focus on 3 areas: a) increasing international cooperation, b) establishing best practices for enforcement, and c) providing a more effective legal framework to combat counterfeiting and piracy. ...
Statement from USTR Spokesman Sean Spicer on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
(ACTA)
05 Jun , 2008: Office of the United States Trade Representative“Participants in discussions on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement met at the U.S. Mission in Geneva June 3-4. This was one of a series of meetings through which the participants plan to develop different aspects of the agreement. ...
Speculation Persists on ACTA As First Official Meeting Concludes
05 Jun, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandGovernment representatives from developed nations and strategic developing nation partners met at the US mission in Geneva on 3-4 June to discuss proposals for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ...
ACTA and the Threat to Credible Global Governance
04 Jun, 2008: Aaron Shaw, San Francisco, CA, USAI’ve recently heard through a grapevine that ACTA negotiants have reportedly signed non-disclosure agreements as a condition of their participation in this week’s secret closed-door meeting in Geneva. This is an amazing and frightening step backwards in the history of global governance. ...
Secret ACTA treaty may include ISP filtering
04 Jun, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USAISP filtering of "pirated" material is a controversial measure that would be tough to push through a national legislature in the US, EU, Japan, Korea, or Canada, what with all those pesky "voters" with their concerns about privacy, fair use, and false positives. But sneaking the provision into a trade agreement? Much easier. ...
The Counterfeit Treaty
03 Jun, 2008: The Huffington Post, New York, NY, USAToday in Geneva Switzerland, at an undisclosed location, the US government, the European Commission, Japan and a handful of other countries will meet in a secret negotiation on a new treaty. The working name is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a name that masks the much broader subject matter, and one that was deliberately chosen to intimidate and discourage politicians from expressing opposition to provisions that undermine civil rights and privacy, and which many say will change the substantive rights the public has to use copyrighted works or inventions. ...
An ACTA Call to Arms: No More Secret Government
03 Jun, 2008: The Patry Copright Blog, New York, NY, USALast week I posted about the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The issue is getting coverage in the blogosphere, but none in the mainstream press at least in the U.S., which is regrettable, since the issues raised are of great public interest. ...
The real ACTA threat (it's not iPod-scanning border guards)
02 Jun, 2008: ars technica, Malden, MA, USADrafting treaties in secret, especially when they concern new crackdowns on intellectual property violations, is a bit like rolling around in red meat, stuffing your pockets with raw hamburger, and jumping into a shark tank; reaction in both cases is likely to be swift and violent. ...
Embattling ACTA Negotiations Next Week in Geneva; US Sees Signing This Year
30 May, 2008: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandFormal negotiations on an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are expected to commence next week in Geneva, according to a European Commission official, even as a leaked United States trade office paper is drawing criticism of the proposed pact. ...
Acting Against ACTA by Professor Alan Story
30 May, 2008: IP Justice, San Francisco, CA, USAFor at least the past five years, copyright and patent owners and their representatives in the halls of power, whether in Washington or London or other rich IP-exporting countries, have used the term and concept of “piracy” to capture the international agenda in our field. ...
Copyright deal
28 May, 2008: Ottawa Citizen, ON, CanadaRe: Proposed secret copyright deal takes aim at iPods, providers, May 24. As a former worker and member of a Riding Board of Directors for the Conservative Party, I feel have to apologize to all Canadians. ...
Let's stand up to Big Brother
28 May, 2008: The Province, Vancouver, BC, CanadaOne of the joys of living in the Internet age is the personal freedom it offers people to enjoy the amazing amount of information now available through everything from computer laptops to cellphones and other electronic devices. But now it seems that freedom is about to end. ...
Government wants into your laptop
27 May, 2008: The Province, Vancouver, BC, CanadaOTTAWA -- The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws that could make the information on iPods, laptops and other devices illegal, according to a leaked government document. ...
Anti-piracy strategy will help government to spy, critic says
26 May, 2008: Globe & Mail, CanadaFears raised changes could lead to policing of legal activities like buying DVDs online. The way Canadians use the Internet and technology - from downloading music to buying new cellphones - could face unprecedented restrictions under new federal policies that critics say are being decided behind closed doors. ...
Copyright deal could toughen rules governing info on iPods, computers
26 May, 2008: Canwest News Service, CanadaOTTAWA -- The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices. The deal could also impose strict regulations on Internet service providers, forcing those companies to hand over customer information without a court order. ...
Group pushes to protect intellectual property
26 May, 2008: The Canadian PressTORONTO - The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is spearheading a drive to tighten Canada's protection of intellectual property. The new Canadian Intellectual Property Council is pressing the case that harsher action against violators of copyright and trademark rights is needed to protect innovation and Canadian competitiveness. ...
Border officials may seize iPods under trade deal
24 May, 2008: National Post, CanadaOTTAWA - The federal government is secretly negotiating a copyright agreement that could make some information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal. ...
Proposed US ACTA multi-lateral intellectual property trade agreement
22 May, 2008: wikileaks.orgA “Discussion Paper on a Possible Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” was reportedly provided to select lobbyists in the intellectual property industry, but not to public interest organizations concerned with the subject matter of the proposed treaty. Wikileaks has obtained the document. ...
Discussion Paper on a Possible Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
22 May, 2008: ACTA proposal leaked through wikileaks.orgThe proliferation of infringements of intellectual property rights ("IPR") particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy poses an ever-increasing threat to the sustainable development of the world economy. ...
Impact of Counterfeiting on International Trade: Comments on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
21 May, 2008: European Parliament, Directorate General Exteral Policies of the Union...the United States and the European Union are evaluating intellectual property enforcement in developing countries against levels of counterfeiting and piracy that are mainly based on estimated losses that their industries claim to exist according to their own surveys. The estimates of the levels of counterfeit and piracy are imperfect and tend to exhibit an upward bias. ...
Japan-EU Joint Statement
23 April, 2008: Tokyo, JapanJapan and the EU will continue to strengthen their cooperation on intellectual property rights (IPR) at both bilateral and
multilateral levels and, as discussed at the recent meetings of the bilateral IPR dialogues, by implementing the initiative of Japan-EU
Action Plan on IPR Protection and Enforcement including acceleration of the negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ...
IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
25 Mar, 2008: IP Justice, San Francisco, CA, USAIn 2007 a select handful of the wealthiest countries began a treaty-making process to create a new global standard for intellectual property rights enforcement, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is spearheaded by the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Switzerland — those countries with the largest intellectual property industries. ...
IP Justice Comments to USTR “ACTA’s Misguided Effort to Increase Government Spying and Ratchet-Up IPR Enforcement at Public Expense"
21 Mar, 2008: IP Justice, San Francisco, CA, USAIP Justice appreciates this opportunity to provide comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). IP Justice is an international civil liberties organization that promotes balanced intellectual property laws and Internet policies that encourage innovation and creativity (http://www.ipjustice.org). ...
Electronic Frontier Foundation Submission to Office of The United States Trade Representative on Proposed Anticounterfeiting Trade Agreement
21 Mar, 2008: Electronic Frontier Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USAEFF believes that no empirical evidence has been provided justifying the creation of a new TRIPs-plus plurilateral intellectual property enforcement treaty backed by the sanctions of international trade law. However, if the USTR decides to negotiate such a treaty, at a minimum it should (1) protect the fundamental privacy rights and freedom of expression of citizens of the U.S.A. and its trading partners, and (2) facilitate a global environment that fosters interoperability and is conducive to technology innovation. ...
KEI Comments on ACTA Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty
20 Mar, 2008: Knowledge Ecology International, Geneva, Switzerland, London, UK and Washington, DC, USAKnowledge Ecology International (KEI)* offers the following comments on a proposal for a new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with future provisions on international cooperation, enforcement practices, and the legal framework for IPR enforcement. ...
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) suggestions for content of ACTA
20 Mar, 2008: MPAA, USAThe commercial scale test for damages should include harm to the infringed party rather than profit-motive or commercial purpose. ... ACTA partners should provide ex-officio authority for law enforcement officials with respect to IPR offenses, without need for a formal complaint by a right holder. ...
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) suggestions for content of ACTA
17 Mar, 2008: RIAA, USA3. Provide that goods determined to be infringing are subject to forfeiture and destruction regardless of whether any action for infringement is initated, whether civil, administrative or criminal and without any compensation of any kind to the defendant, and regardless of whether there has been any finding of liability on the part of any person. ...
USTR 2008 Trade Policy Agenda and 2007 Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program
Mar, 2008: Office of the United States Trade Representative (see pdf pages 16, 32, 165, 167, 237-239)The United States is working to strengthen cooperation with our trading partners in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy. In October 2007, U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab announced a major new initiative, in partnership with several key trading partners, to fight counterfeiting and piracy by seeking to negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ...
Clarity Sought on Electronics Searches
07 Feb, 2008: Washington Post, USANabila Mango, a therapist and a U.S. citizen who has lived in the country since 1965, had just flown in from Jordan last December when, she said, she was detained at customs and her cellphone was taken from her purse. ...
EU court shoots down attempt to force ISP disclosure of customer data
29 Jan, 2008: Washington Post, USAThe European Court of Justice, the EU's top legal authority, sent a clear message to content owners that their exclusive right to distribute copyrighted works doesn't trump personal privacy rights of ISP customers. ...
Protecting IPR in China
26 Nov, 2007: EU Trade CommissionerBehind every innovative European product, whether it's a fashion shoe, or a solar panel using new environmental technology or a medicine or a semiconductor - there is an idea that requires protection. But every day, in numbers that are getting higher every year - those ideas are being stolen. That is the main reason why the EU has recently chosen to spearhead work on a new global pact against counterfeiting - ACTA, the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement. ...
Australian government's official ACTA page
13 Nov, 2007: Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and TradeThis discussion paper provides information on a new treaty being proposed by Japan, the EC, the US and Switzerland, provisionally called the Anti‑Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The paper is divided into three parts, firstly setting out details of the proposed instrument, then addressing the place of Australia and the proposed ACTA in the present international intellectual property (IP) system, and finally addressing the likely provisions of the ACTA in an Australian context. ...
Top Economies To Negotiate Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Pact
24 Oct, 2007: IP Watch, Geneva, SwitzerlandThe United States, European Union and other key trading partners on Tuesday announced their intention to negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to encourage other countries to meet higher intellectual property rights enforcement standards. ...
Canadian government's official ACTA page
23 Oct, 2007: Foreign Affairs and International Trade CanadaIn October 2007, the Government of Canada announced that it would participate in preliminary discussions with the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and other countries towards an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). (See News Release - October 23, 2007). These discussions aim to develop international standards to better combat the trade in counterfeit trade-marked and pirated copyright goods. ...
European Commission's Fact Sheet: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
23 Oct, 2007: European CommissionThe proliferation of infringements of intellectual property rights (“IPR”) particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy poses an ever-increasing threat to the sustainable development of the world economy. ...
USTR's Fact Sheet: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
Oct, 2007: Office of the United States Trade RepresentativeThe proliferation of infringements of intellectual property rights (“IPR”) particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy poses an ever-increasing threat to the sustainable development of the world economy. ...
USTR Press Release: Ambassador Schwab Announces U.S. Will Seek New Trade Agreement to Fight Fakes
23 Oct, 2007: Office of the United States Trade RepresentativeWASHINGTON DC - In a major step in the fight against intellectual property rights (IPR) counterfeiting and piracy, U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab today announced the United States and some of its key trading partners will seek to negotiate an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ...
Canada Joins Discussions Toward International Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
23 Oct, 2007: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, CanadaThe Honourable David Emerson, Minister of International Trade, today announced that Canada will participate in preliminary discussions with the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and other countries toward an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA). ...
EU wants new international agreement targeted at pirates, counterfeiters
23 Oct, 2007, ars technica, Malden, MA, USAForget the existing structures: the European Commission wants the EU to bypass WIPO and the WTO and move forward on a new anticounterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) made directly with key trading partners. The goal is to strengthen the intellectual property protections so important to the EU, the US, Korea, Japan, and others. Despite formidable protection offered by WIPO treaties and WTO rules, ...