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

From Wellington to Lucerne: Tracking the Major ACTA Changes

While the parties have not formally disclosed it, the immediate ACTA schedule now appears to include discussions between the U.S. and the EU next month in Washington followed by a full round of talks (Round Ten) in Japan in September. Some have criticized the exclusion of the remaining ACTA countries in the August discussions, but as I posted earlier, the ACTA text has really come down to a U.S. vs. EU document with the remaining countries picking a side. The sticking point in Washington will undoubtedly be scope of the treaty, with the EU pushing for inclusion of geographical indications and the U.S. making it clear they are willing to cave on almost anything that does not involve changes to domestic law. Geographical indications would require change, however, which is what led to my post speculating about the possibility of an ACTA without Europe.

Last week I posted a scorecard on the major areas of disagreement. This final chart highlights the key changes from the April meeting in New Zealand to the June meeting in Lucerne, with many changes the result of a shift in U.S. position.

July 30, 2010 — Comments are Disabled — News

Civil Society Groups Warn on ACTA and Access To Medicines

Civil society groups have written to the European Commission warning about the impact of ACTA on access to medicines. The letter cites numerous concerns based on the July leaked text. The next meeting will be a private meeting in August between the EU and the US as they attempt to […]

July 29, 2010 — Comments are Disabled — News

CETA Update: EU Continues To Press on IP

The Department of Foreign Affairs held a call today with various groups to provide an update on the Canada – European Union Comprehensive Trade Agreement negotiations. The department indicated that there has been progress on virtually all issues and the broad shape of the deal is being outlined. On intellectual […]

July 27, 2010 — 4 comments — News

Next ACTA Meeting “Intercessional Meeting” Not Formal Round

David Hammerstein reports that the next series of ACTA talks will be an “intercessional meeting” in Washington starting on August 16, 2010. The talks will not be treated as a formal round, which has the effect of decreasing transparency since no agenda or statement will be released.

July 27, 2010 — Comments are Disabled — News

Could the EU Walk Away From ACTA?

Over the past week, I have had several posts on ACTA in the wake of the most recent leaked text, including a scorecard on the major remaining areas of disagreement, one assessing the growing rift between the U.S. and E.U., Canadian positions on ACTA, the changed U.S. position on anti-circumvention rules, and a look at geographical indications, a key issue for the EU. On top of these posts, there is additional information disclosed last weekend that Luc Devigne, the lead EU negotiator is taking on new responsibilities (though the EU says he will continue on ACTA).

Putting the pieces together, I think it may be worth considering whether the EU is prepared to walk away from ACTA altogether, leaving the U.S. with a far smaller agreement that cannot credibly claim to set a standard for the G8 or developed world.

Why raise this possibility?

July 22, 2010 — 14 comments — News