[A2k] Aaron shaw on ACTA, WIPO, WCO and USTR...

[Manon Ress]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Corporate representatives, Trade Officials meet in New York to discuss
ACTA
Aaron Shaw
March 11, 2008
http://fringethoughts.wordpress.com/


A March 4 article from the online magazine, Managing Intellectual
Property identifies the primary constituency pushing for the ACTA
proposal:

      =94Representatives from the International Chamber of Commerce=92s
(ICC) Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP)
initiative gathered with government officials in New York yesterday to
discuss strategies for ending the international trade in fake goods.

     The meeting was attended by CEO=92s of companies such as Microsoft,
General Electric and Pfizer, as well as the executive director of
INTA, Alan Drewsen, the deputy secretary-general of WIPO, Michael
Keplinger, and the secretary-general of the World Customs Organization
(WCO), Michael Danet. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab also took
part=94

Nothing very surprising here, but I see two points worth noting.
First, the roster of BASCAP=92s Global Leadership Group includes a
number other heavy hitters that have traditionally supported rigid IP
regulations such as Sony and EMI. Second, I wonder what the presence
of WIPO deputy secretary-general Keplinger at this meeting means?

One thing is for sure, Keplinger=92s participation in the ACTA meeting
should not be construed to imply a broader mandate from WIPO or its
membership. Back in April, 2006, IP Watch reported that Keplinger=92s
nomination for his current position came from the US Commerce
Department. The story details that Keplinger had previously worked in
the office of foreign relations at the US Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO). The USPTO is one of the most active proponents of patent
harmonization in the world. Is Keplinger just continuing his old line
of work? According to this blog post by Jamie Love, Keplinger sounds
like a holdout from the days when the US and corporate lobbyists
dictated the terms of trade policy to the world. Those days are over.


***************************************************************************
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org,

1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673

1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727

24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607

Il vaut mieux remuer une question, sans la d=E9cider, que la d=E9cider,
sans la remuer.
Pens=E9es, essais, maximes et correspondance de J. Joubert  p.249
http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Visualiseur?Destination=3DGallica&O=3DNUMM-88671
Translation: It is better to debate a question without settling it
than to settle a question without debating it