The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has mushroomed into a massive political issue in Europe in recent weeks with protests in hundreds of cities across the continent. Much of the focus has been on whether the European Parliament will give its approval to the agreement. The focal point of attention within the EP has been on the INTA committee, which holds a public workshop on the issue today. Interest in the workshop has been incredible – there are apparently 800 registrants with thousands more expected to watch the live stream.

Several months ago, I was approached to write one of several reports for the ACTA workshop. The report will be made public in the next couple of weeks, but I’ll be on the workshop’s first panel (along with Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Professor Christophe Geiger) to discuss my report and the agreement. The panel starts at 9:15 ET. I only have ten minutes for opening remarks, so the comments target a few of the findings from the report. A transcript of my planned remarks is posted with EP permission below:

Read more ›