ACTA Background

ACTA Background Information

This section reflects information about ACTA today and the history behind.

Timeline

http://www.dipity.com/michaelgeist/personal

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Category:ACTA

http://keionline.org/acta

Amelia's notes

About ACTA recently: 2008:

http://press.ffii.org/Press%20releases/EU%20Council%20refuses%20to%20release%20secret%20ACTA%20documents

What happens is, Ante Wessels from FFII requested documents citing that the text of the treaty, based on leaked documents, appeared to simulate legislation. The ombudsman could not grant the request not having seen the documents. The ombudsman still cannot grant the request due to not being shown the documents.

2009:

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Classified_US%2C_Japan_and_EU_ACTA_trade_agreement_drafts%2C_2009

http://werebuild.eu/wiki/index.php/The_Impact_of_the_Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement_on_the_Knowledge_Economy:_The_Accountability_of_the_Office_of_the_U.S._Trade_Representative_for_the_Creation_of_IP_Enforcement_Norms_Through_Executive_Trade_Agreements

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/European_Commission_%22advance_warning%22_summary_on_ACTA_Internet_Chapter%2C_30_Sep_2009

What these documents show are: differences in opinions about the tex of the treaty. In particular, note that EU advocates a treaty that does not require legislative changes in the union (if you doubt me on this, I will dig up everything I have on precedents in legislations and especially border measures). The EFF essay is about the need for transparency in making of public policy. Note that they don't call ACTA legislation. The EC advance warning should be understood in the context of the US trying to enforce a treaty that _would_ require EU legislation to change, while the EU does not want that. However, the EU is large enough an economic area to stand up to the US.

About preliminaries to ACTA (World Customs Organisation: SECURE standards):

2008:

http://www.southcentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=952&Itemid=67

http://www.keionline.org/content/view/188/1

It's incredibly important to understand that the roots of ACTA lie in the SECURE standards project pushed in the World Customs Organisation between 2005-2007. I have found the above documents to be very helpful in getting an overview of the SECURE standards project. Especially note that WCO functions as a democratic, international forum with one vote per nation and many third world members. ACTA supercedes that by excluding third world nations.

EU-South Korea FTA:

http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=443&serie=273&langId=en

Read the FTA carefully. EuroISPA have reacted on chapter 10 which they fear will narrow down the scope of mere conduit in the e-commerce directive from 2001, and i recently heard from Köhler, Green group advisor on international trade agreements, that the IP sections are really to be studied as well.

Please feel free to contact Amelia for additional information:

amelia.andersdotter (at) piratpartiet.se