Google hosted a debate on ACTA yesterday that included perspectives from all sides of the issue. Rebecca Tushnet has posted a live blog of the event and Mike Masnick tweeted that Steve Metalitz, a lawyer with the IIPA, stated that ACTA would help bring Canada into the 21st century. The […]
Cooperation in the Pacific Rim by Jakob Polacsek, World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/48179628441
Digital Trade
Canada – EU Trade Agreement Negotiations Resume Next Week
Troy Media reports on the ongoing Canada – EU Trade Agreement negotiations. Leaked documents indicate that there are signficant intellectual property demands from the Europeans. Negotiations resume in Brussels on January 18th.
Union des Consommateurs Files ACTA Protest
Union des Consommateurs has posted a public letter expressing concern over the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
Legislators Worldwide Asking Questions About ACTA
Legislators around the world are demanding more information on the secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. French Deputy Nicolas Dupont-Aignan raised ACTA questions in the National Assembly late last year, expressing concerns about a global three-strikes and you're out approach, increased costs for medicines, and the lack of transparency associated with the process.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden goes even further in a letter to the USTR this week that seeks answers to nearly a dozen questions about ACTA. Wyden asks about:
- possible constraints on domestic U.S. law reforms
- ensuring ACTA does not interfere with public health flexibilities in TRIPs
- the definition of counterfeit
- concerns about the inclusion of patents within ACTA
- the role of ISPs in ACTA
- whether increased monitoring of subscriber usage is envisioned by ACTA
- the privacy impact of ACTA
- details on border measures provisions
- third party liability for IP infringement
- possible commitments worldwide to comply with the DMCA
Wyden is not the first U.S. senator to raise questions about ACTA. Last year, Senators Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown also wrote to the USTR as did Senators Pat Leahy and Arlen Specter in 2008.
UK Gov’t On ACTA: Lack of Transparency Not In the Public Interest
The UK Government discusses the lack of transparency in an EU access to information request: "More broadly with respect to ACTA the UK considers that transparency is crucial to ensure the legitimacy of the agreement and to stop the spread of rumours. We believe the lack of transparency is unhelpful […]
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