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ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement)

The dishonestly labelled Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement which is really an Internet, copyright and patent trade agreement.

Word manipulation, hypocrisy, and the so-called Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

ACTA represents an attempt by a few businesses using outdated business methods to try to find a way around Clayton Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma. They are doing this by lobbying for rules which will protect their existing business methods against emerging businesses which might transform the economy and replace the old ways of doing things. In their lobbying they are manipulating language to suggest what they are asking for is very different than what they are actually asking for, and they are trying to suggest that activities are devastating and must be stopped if someone else does something which the companies the lobbiests represent commonly do themselves.

>> Read full article on IT World Canada's blog.

Petition opposing ACTA, the dishonestly labelled Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

We have other petitions we are sending to the Canadian parliament. Please print and sign all of them.
We currently have text for a petition, and are looking for feedback and people to help get signatures. Please join the discussion in the mailing list. Even though we never officially launched this petition, signatures have been collected which will be tabled in the House of Commons.

Please print and sign the following!

The text of the petition is available in English (PDF)/ English (OpenDocument)

Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA

EFF commentary by Gwen Hinze discusses the counterfeit treaty ACTA.

The Internet provisions have nothing to do with addressing counterfeit products, but are all about imposing a set of copyright industry demands on the global Internet, including obligations on ISPs to adopt Three Strikes Internet disconnection policies, and a global expansion of DMCA-style TPM laws.

DMCA-style TPM laws are a direct attack on property rights, and 3-strikes laws are invalid given we already have statutory damages which is "one *PROVEN* strike" laws. 3-strikes is all about punishment without proof, where the punishment doesn't fit the crime (cutting off legs for jaywalking).

The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together

The mis-labeled Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (which itself is counterfeit, as politicians have been entirely dishonest about the origins and content of the treaty) has again had parts of its secret contents leaked. Some details are on Michael Geist's blog.

Conservatives Promise to Re-Introduce Canadian DMCA

Michael Geist was the first to write that the Conservative Party has released its platform and it devotes a half-page to copyright that leaves little doubt that it plans to bring back Bill C-61 and continue to support ACTA.

See also: CBC, ZDNet

Pro-IP Act authors criticize ACTA

Keith Rose has noticed something interesting, which is that the US authors of the controversial Pro-IP Act criticize ACTA.

Media Advisory: Secret Counterfeiting Treaty Must Be Made Public, Global Organizations Say

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Press release on EssentialAction.org

September 15, 2008

**Secret Counterfeiting Treaty Must Be Made Public, Global Organizations Say**

More than 100 public interest organizations from around the world today called on officials from the countries negotiating Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) – Canada, the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand -- to publish immediately the draft text of the agreement.

Predictable positions from subset of stakeholders at Brussels telecommunication/copyright event.

Michael Geist has posted an article "The Battle Over Internet Filtering" where he discusses a seminar in Brussels on the "telecoms package" currently before the European Parliament. He listed out some of the views of the stakeholders on issues like DRM, "three strikes and you're out" policies ("graduated response") , "technical mandates", ISP filtering/blocking of infringing content, and stronger cross-border enforcement initiatives (ACTA).

Read the rest of this entry »

Government Should Lift Veil on ACTA Secrecy

Michael Geist's weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the (so-called) Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

Speculation Persists On ACTA As First Official Meeting Concludes

An article by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch discusses the misleadingly labelled Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

ACTA’s declared goal, according to a note released after the meeting by the negotiators, is “to provide a high-level international framework that strengthens the global enforcement of intellectual property rights.”

Why then have Anti-Counterfeiting in the title, given counterfeiting is not strictly an "Intellectual Property" issue, and the use of this language seems to be to bring up support for the treaty that would not otherwise exist based on the actual non-counterfeiting related topics being discussed.

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