Fresh off the European Parliament resolution calling for greater ACTA transparency, the European Commission has announced plans for a public consultation meeting next month. Moreover, the EC has updated several of its public documents (Fact Sheet, FAQ, Backgrounder) in which it seeks to respond to claims regarding ACTA transparency.
Post Tagged with: "Counterfeit"
ACTA Timeline in Spanish
A Columbian blogger has translated my recent posting on ACTA into Spanish.
The ACTA Timeline (or Everything You Need To Know About ACTA But Your Government Won’t Tell You)
Following yesterday's column/post on ACTA, I thought it be useful to develop an ACTA timeline so that the progression of the still-secret treaty can be more easily understood. This lengthy post builds on a range of articles, blog postings, official documents released under Access to Information, and well-publicized leaks. While the starting point is October 2007, when there was a coordinated announcement from participating countries, Mark Harris has an insightful post tracing ACTA lobbying to 2004 and the first Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting. Further, I've uncovered Canadian documents as early as January 2007 that discuss ACTA.
Assuming October 2007, however, the chronology looks something like this:
Battle over ACTA Heats Up As DFAIT Consults, U.S. Promotes Global DMCA
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) begins by noting that next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs will conduct one of the stranger consultations in recent memory. Officials have invited roughly 70 stakeholder groups to discuss an international intellectual property treaty that the U.S. regards as a national security secret and about which the only public substantive information has come from a series of unofficial leaks.
Since then-Minister David Emerson announced Canada’s participation in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations in October 2007, the ACTA has been dogged by controversy over the near-total lack of transparency. Early negotiations were held in secret locations with each participating country (Canada, the U.S., the European Union, Japan, and Australia among them) offering nearly-identical cryptic press releases that did little more than fuel public concern.
The participating countries conducted four major negotiation sessions in 2008 and though the first session of 2009 was postponed at the request of the U.S. (which was busy transitioning to a new president), the negotiations are set to resume later this spring. When they do, negotiators will face two key challenges.
Battle Over Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty Heats Up
Appeared in the Toronto Star on March 30, 2009 as Anti-counterfeiting Treaty Talks Heat Up Next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs will conduct one of the stranger consultations in recent memory. Officials have invited roughly 70 stakeholder groups to discuss an international intellectual property treaty that the U.S. regards […]
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 230: Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 228: Kumanan Wilson on Why Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Privacy Protection in the Trump Era
