Michael Geist

One of the biggest stories over the three year negotiation of ACTA has been the willingness of the U.S. to cave on the Internet provisions.  When it first proposed the chapter, the U.S. was seeking new intermediary liability requirements with three strikes and you’re out used as an example of an appropriate policy as well as language that attempted to create a global DMCA.  The draft released today is a far cry from that proposal with the intermediary liability provisions largely removed and the DMCA digital lock provisions much closer to the WIPO Internet treaty model. In its place, is a chapter that is best viewed as ACTA Ultra-Lite. For Canadians, this is crucial since it now leaves an ACTA that is far more flexible than even Bill C-32.  In fact, the Canadian copyright bill now exceeds the requirements under ACTA and could be amended in a manner that will allow for greater balance on digital locks and still be ACTA compliant.

It should also be noted that this chapter is still not concluded.  The inclusion of trademarks in some provisions would seemingly require changes to U.S. law and has not acheived consensus.  Further, a provision on enforcement procedures ” including the unlawful use of means of widespread distribution for infringing purposes” has not received consensus support. With respect to what has been concluded:

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