Post Tagged with: "US"

ACTA Coming Down to Fight Between U.S. and Europe

With yesterday’s leak of the full ACTA text (updated to include the recent round of talks in Lucerne) the simmering fight between the U.S. and the E.U. on ACTA is now being played out in the open. During the first two years of negotations, both sides were at pains to indicate that there was no consensus on transparency and the treaty would not change their domestic rules. Over the past four months, the dynamic on both transparency and substance has changed.

The turning point on transparency came as a result of two events in February and March. First, a Dutch government document leak that identified which specific countries were barriers to transparency. Once identified, the named European countries quickly came onside to support release of the text, leaving the U.S. as the obvious source of the problem. Second, the European Parliament became actively engaged in the ACTA process and demanded greater transparency. As the New Zealand round approached, it was clear that the Europeans needed a resolution on transparency. The U.S. delegation used the transparency issue as a bargaining chip, issuing a release at the start of the talks that it hoped that enough progress could be made to allow for consensus on sharing the text. The U.S. ultimately agreed to release the text, but subsequent events indicate that it still views transparency as a bargaining chip, rather than as a commitment.

At the conclusion of the latest round of negotiations in Lucerne, the U.S. did not achieve its goals for the talks and refused to agree to the release of an updated text. The disagreement between the U.S. and E.U. has played out in the open this week, with the USTR’s Stan McCoy acknowledging that the talks did not achieve as much as the U.S. hoped and EU Commissioner Karel de Gucht plainly blaming the U.S. for blocking release of the text, indicating that he did not expect much progress in the next round on talks in Washington, and calling out the U.S. for its “hypocrisy” on key issues. The fact the text was leaked within hours of de Gucht’s comments highlight Europe’s frustration with the U.S. position on transparency.

July 15, 2010 — 9 comments — News

U.S. on ACTA: Full Steam Ahead

This has been a remarkable two weeks for those tracking the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, as the proposed treaty has begun to attract attention at the highest political levels. The European Union has undergone the greatest change. First, the identification of the transparency holdouts led to a unanimous EU position favouring release of the text. This week, EC Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht stated: "I will see to it that at the next negotiating round, in April, the Commission will vigorously push its negotiating partners to agree to release the text." This leaves the U.S., South Korea, and Singapore as the remaining barriers to full transparency. Second, this week's European Parliament resolution places the European Commission on the defensive with respect to ACTA. The negotiations will continue, but Europe clearly faces internal challenges in the ACTA process.

The U.S. response to the European developments came yesterday, as President Obama reiterated his support for finishing ACTA. In comments on IP enforcement, Obama discussed the need to "aggressively protect" IP, pointing specifically to ACTA. The reference to ACTA was clearly meant to send a strong signal that the U.S. intends to continue its push for a treaty. Indeed, the U.S. has not changed its position on anything with respect to ACTA – it is one of the lone holdouts on the issue of transparency and its negotiating position on the text itself has not moved much through almost two years of negotiations. Consider the Civil Enforcement chapter, which was first proposed by the U.S. in July 2008 at the second round of ACTA talks in Washington. The recent leak of the latest version of the chapter shows that practically nothing has changed:

March 12, 2010 — 26 comments — News

New ACTA Leak: U.S., Korea, Singapore, Denmark Do Not Support Transparency

Throughout the debate over ACTA transparency, many countries have taken public positions that they support release of the actual text, but that other countries do not. Since full transparency requires consensus of all the ACTA partners, the text simply can't be released until everyone is in agreement. Of course, those same countries hasten to add that they can't name who opposes ACTA transparency, since that too is secret.

No longer. In an important new leak from the Netherlands (Dutch, Google English translation, better English translation), a Dutch memorandum reporting back on the Mexico ACTA negotiation round names names, pointing specifically to which countries support releasing the text and which do not (note that the memo does not canvass everyone – Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are known to support transparency but are not named in the memo). According to the Dutch memo, the UK has played a lead role in making the case for full disclosure of the documents and is of the view that there is consensus for release of the text (there is support from many countries including the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, and Austria). However, the memo indicates that several countries are not fully supportive including Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and Denmark. Of these four countries, the Dutch believe that Denmark is the most inflexible on the issue.

Outside of the Europe, the memo identifies three problem countries. While Japan is apparently supportive, both South Korea and Singapore oppose ACTA transparency. Moreover, the U.S. has remained silent on the issue, as it remains unconvinced of the need for full disclosure. In doing so, it would appear that the U.S. is perhaps the biggest problem since a clear position of support might be enough to persuade the remaining outliers.

February 25, 2010 — 181 comments — News

Brazil May Target U.S. IP To Retaliate for WTO Violation

Brazil is threatening to ignore U.S. patents in retaliation for WTO violations over cotton subsidies.

February 10, 2010 — 3 comments — News

U.S. To Costa Rica: No Sugar Access Without Copyright Reform

Reports from Costa Rica indicate that final approval of the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States is languishing in the Legislative Assembly due to concerns over the copyright provisions. The CAFTA copyright provisions are similar to those found in the other major U.S. trade agreements concluded in recent years: DMCA-style protections, ISP liability, and copyright term extension are all part of the package.

In this case, it is the responses that are most noteworthy. Within Costa Rica, the article reports that the copyright provisions in the trade treaty have set off a wave of student protests over what it means for education. Meanwhile, health officials are concerned that the provisions on pharmaceutical products "would bankrupt the public health system." The response from the U.S. is important as well. It is delaying market access to sugar from the developing country until the copyright reforms are in place. Until that time, Costa Rican sugar producers will not be able to sell their product in the U.S.

Interestingly, Costa Rica is not the only country in the region grappling with U.S. pressure on copyright.

January 15, 2010 — 21 comments — News