Archive for January 25th, 2010

NZ MP Clare Curran on ACTA: More Transparency Needed

New Zealand MP Clare Curran has posted on ACTA, calling for greater transparency in the talks.

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January 25, 2010 1 comment News

Three Strikes and You’re Out System Would Come At a Big Price

Appeared in the Toronto Star on January 25, 2010 as Three Strikes And You're Out System Draw Cries of Foul From Governments Canadian officials travel to Guadalajara, Mexico this week to resume negotiations on the still-secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.  The discussion is likely to turn to the prospect of supporting […]

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January 25, 2010 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

The ACTA Guide, Part One: The Talks To-Date

The 7th round of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations begins tomorrow in Guadalajara, Mexico.  The negotiation round will be the longest to-date, with three and a half days planned to address civil enforcement, border measures, the Internet provisions, and (one hour for) transparency.  Over the next five days, I plan to post a five-part ACTA Guide that will include sourcing for much of the discussion on ACTA, links to all the leaked documents, information on the transparency issue, and a look at who has been speaking out.

I start today with a lengthy backgrounder for those new to ACTA or looking to catch up on recent developments.  There are several ways to get up-to-speed.  The recent Google-sponsored debate was very informative, particularly on the transparency issue.  There has been some helpful mainstream media coverage from the Washington Post (Copyright Overreach Takes a World Tour, Q & A on ACTA) and the Irish Times (Secret agreement may have poisonous effect on the net).  The Command Line ran a podcast on the topic last week and I've posted interviews on ACTA I did with Search Engine and CBC's As It Happens.  Last last year I also created a timeline that tracks the evolution of ACTA and I gave a talk on ACTA last November that highlights the major developments in about 20 minutes (embedded below).


 
A more detailed description of developments follows below:

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January 25, 2010 2 comments News

UK Liberal Democrats Demand ACTA Transparency

The UK Liberal Democrats have issued a press release calling on the government to release the details of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

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January 25, 2010 Comments are Disabled News

U.S. Judge Drops “Shocking” File Sharing Damage Award By 97%

A U.S. judge has reduced the damage award in a Minnesota file sharing case from $80,000 per song to $2,250.  The 97% reduction comes as the judge found the original jury award shocking and concluded that statutory damages must bear some relationship to actual damages.

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January 25, 2010 2 comments News