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Wednesday September 08, 2010 |
Two months ago, I posted
the question on whether the EU might ultimately decide to walk away
from ACTA given the ongoing battle over the scope of the treaty (the EU
wants it cover all IP, particularly geographical indications, the U.S.
wants it limited to copyright and trademarks). Although the
parties
continue to indicate they expect to conclude ACTA later this month at
the next round of negotiations in Japan, it is still fair to ask
whether the treaty will include the EU. As I've noted in posts
this
week (here
and here),
the U.S. continues to cave on many issues, leading to a text some are
describing as "ACTA-lite"
and which EU Commissioner Karel de Gucht today told the
European Parliament was a least common denominator approach.
Notwithstanding the obvious efforts by the U.S. to strike a deal - both
by caving on some key issues and pushing for a conclusion to the talks
- bringing the European Union on side will not be easy. First,
the
approval of Written
Declaration 12
by the European Parliament, along with today's contentious hearings,
demonstrates that ACTA will face a real fight by the elected parliament
once it concludes and receiving the necessary approvals are by no means
certain. Second, the EU continues to link scope of the treaty
with its
usefulness. One observer of today's hearing reports
that de Gucht threatened to leave the negotiations if the scope and
measures are not broad enough to meet European interests. This
means
including geographical indications in the treaty. From the U.S.
perspective, however, this may be a line-in-the-sand issue since their
inclusion would require domestic law reform, which the USTR has
repeatedly promised would not be needed (and which sends the treaty to
Congress in an election year).
Today's tough talk from the EU may just be posturing in advance of the
upcoming negotiations. It is certainly possible - indeed still likely -
that a political compromise will be reached. If not, the U.S.
appears
to have decided that Japan will be the last round of talks. If
that is
true (and not more posturing), an ACTA without the EU remains a
possibility.
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Wednesday September 08, 2010 |
Politicians in Europe and Mexico are speaking out on the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement just as ACTA nears
completion. In
Europe, a majority of the European Parliament has signed Written
Declaration 12. Initiated by MEPs Françoise
Castex (S&D, FR),
Alexander Alvaro (ALDE, DE), Stavros Lambrinidis (S&D, GR) and
Zuzana Roithová (EPP, CZ). It expresses concern about ACTA by
declaring
that the negotiated agreement must respect freedom of expression,
privacy, and net neutrality. By obtaining support from a majority
of
MEPs, the declaration may be deemed adopted. The full
declaration states:
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Monday September 06, 2010 |
Given the history of ACTA leaks, to no one's surprise, the latest
version of the draft agreement was leaked last night on KEI's
website. The new
version
- which reflects changes made during an intense week of negotiations
last month in Washington - shows a draft agreement that is much closer
to becoming reality. Square brackets have been removed from many
sections, leaving the core issue of scope of the agreement as the
biggest issue to be resolved when the next round of negotiations begins
in a few weeks in Japan.
Perhaps the most important story of the latest draft is how the
countries are close to agreement on the Internet enforcement
chapter.
The Internet enforcement chapter has been among the most contentious
since the U.S. first proposed draft language that would have globalized
the DMCA and raised the prospect of three strikes and you're out.
In
the face of opposition, the U.S. has dropped its demands on secondary
liability but is still holding out hope of establishing digital lock
rules that go beyond the WIPO Internet treaties and were even rejected
by its own courts.
The key takeaways from the Internet chapter, noting that Canada has
reserved the right to revisit elements of this chapter at a later date:
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Tuesday August 31, 2010 |
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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 could be one-fifth of
previously calculated figures.
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