A new report funded by the European Union has concluded that counterfeits have pro-consumer effects while rejecting claims of losses by established companies. The report concludes that most counterfeit purchases are not substitute for the genuine article and actually help promote the brand. The report finds that the real cost […]
Post Tagged with: "EU"
Could the EU Walk Away From ACTA?
Putting the pieces together, I think it may be worth considering whether the EU is prepared to walk away from ACTA altogether, leaving the U.S. with a far smaller agreement that cannot credibly claim to set a standard for the G8 or developed world.
Why raise this possibility?
Canada Seeks To Join Consultations on India-EU WTO Dispute on Generic Medicine Seizures
The SpicyIP Blog notes that Canada is one of several countries that have asked to join consultations on the World Trade Organization dispute between India and the EU over in-transit seizures of generic medicines (ie. seizures of the meds originating in India and traveling through Europe to another destination). The […]
ACTA Coming Down to Fight Between U.S. and Europe
The turning point on transparency came as a result of two events in February and March. First, a Dutch government document leak that identified which specific countries were barriers to transparency. Once identified, the named European countries quickly came onside to support release of the text, leaving the U.S. as the obvious source of the problem. Second, the European Parliament became actively engaged in the ACTA process and demanded greater transparency. As the New Zealand round approached, it was clear that the Europeans needed a resolution on transparency. The U.S. delegation used the transparency issue as a bargaining chip, issuing a release at the start of the talks that it hoped that enough progress could be made to allow for consensus on sharing the text. The U.S. ultimately agreed to release the text, but subsequent events indicate that it still views transparency as a bargaining chip, rather than as a commitment.
At the conclusion of the latest round of negotiations in Lucerne, the U.S. did not achieve its goals for the talks and refused to agree to the release of an updated text. The disagreement between the U.S. and E.U. has played out in the open this week, with the USTR’s Stan McCoy acknowledging that the talks did not achieve as much as the U.S. hoped and EU Commissioner Karel de Gucht plainly blaming the U.S. for blocking release of the text, indicating that he did not expect much progress in the next round on talks in Washington, and calling out the U.S. for its “hypocrisy” on key issues. The fact the text was leaked within hours of de Gucht’s comments highlight Europe’s frustration with the U.S. position on transparency.
EU Article 29 Working Party Puts ACTA on the Agenda
The EU Article 29 Working Party, which addresses privacy issues in Europe, has placed ACTA on its agenda for its next meeting on July 12-13, 2010.