IP Watch considers whether the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has the necessary support to obtain six ratifications to take effect. Thus far, only Japan has ratified the agreement.
Post Tagged with: "acta"
Reports Indicate Japan Ratifies ACTA
Reports indicate that Japan has ratified the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Japan had positioned itself as a leading proponent of the treaty, hosting the final round of negotiations and the official signing a year later.
CETA Update, Part Two: ACTA Provisions Are Still Very Much Alive
Steve Verheul, the lead Canadian negotiator for the Canada – EU Trade Agreement, provided an update on the CETA negotiations last week on a call with civil society groups. My first post on the call included an update on the timing of future rounds, the lack of transparency with the […]
Why the European Commission’s Assurances on ACTA & CETA Don’t Add Up
- All FTAs negotiated by the EU, including CETA, contain chapters on IPR enforcement. They are just one aspect of a comprehensive approach. CETA is not different.
- The Commission fully respects the vote of the EP of the European Parliament on ACTA and the IPR related text of CETA is being reviewed in order to remove or adapt elements that are considered problematic in the opinions and reports adopted by European Parliament.
- The draft text of CETA of February 2012 (on which the press comments are based) is outdated and reflects thinking at a time before the ACTA vote in EP. It should come as no surprise that certain provision resemble ACTA, which both Canada and the EU had negotiated. In the meantime, negotiations have evolved and the February 2012 text no longer represents the current state of the negotiations.
- For instance, even before the ACTA vote in the EP, the provisions on IPR enforcement on the internet had already evolved. For instance, Articles 27.3 and 27.4 of ACTA, which are considered problematic in the EP, are no longer reflected in CETA.
- The final result of the IPR chapter of CETA is likely to be very close to the IPR chapter of the Korea FTA, which was endorsed by a broad majority in the Parliament, and which has been in force for over a year now.
The European Commission statement not only confirms some changes in CETA, but suggests that the final version will look like the EU – South Korea Free Trade Agreement. This disclosure raises its own set of concerns for both Europeans and Canadians. This posts outlines six major areas of concern given the current uncertainty with CETA, its linkages to ACTA, and the influence of the EU – South Korea FTA.
UK MEP Calls for Revision of CETA to Remove ACTA Provisions
Nigel Farage, a UK Member of the European Parliament, has tabled a question to the European Commission that asks if it “will undertake a revision of the EU-Canada deal to remove all proposals similar to ACTA.” Farage says that CETA should be thoroughly revised to remove anything that would implement […]