Michael Geist

While the parties have not formally disclosed it, the immediate ACTA schedule now appears to include discussions between the U.S. and the EU next month in Washington followed by a full round of talks (Round Ten) in Japan in September.  Some have criticized the exclusion of the remaining ACTA countries in the August discussions, but as I posted earlier, the ACTA text has really come down to a U.S. vs. EU document with the remaining countries picking a side.  The sticking point in Washington will undoubtedly be scope of the treaty, with the EU pushing for inclusion of geographical indications and the U.S. making it clear they are willing to cave on almost anything that does not involve changes to domestic law.  Geographical indications would require change, however, which is what led to my post speculating about the possibility of an ACTA without Europe. 

Last week I posted a scorecard on the major areas of disagreement. This final chart highlights the key changes from the April meeting in New Zealand to the June meeting in Lucerne, with many changes the result of a shift in U.S. position.

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