[A2k] Press Release: Secret Counterfeiting Treaty Must Be Made Public, Global Organizations Say

[Manon Ress]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2008

For more information contact:
USA: Robert Weissman, director, Essential Action +1 (202) 387-8030,
(Mobile) +1 (202) 360-1844, rob@essential.org

Australia: Kimberlee Weatherall, Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law,
The University of Queensland and Board Member, Australian Digital
Alliance, (Mobile) +61 4 0376 2544, k.weatherall@law.uq.edu.au

Canada: Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-
commerce Law, University of Ottawa, (Office) +1 (613) 562-5800 ext.
3319, mgeist@uottawa.ca

Korea: Byoung-il Oh, Korean Progressive Network Jinbonet, (Tel)
+82-2-774-455, (Mobile) +82-19-213-9199, antiropy@www.jinbo.net

**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) -- the United States, the
European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico,
Australia and New Zealand -- to publish immediately the draft text of
the agreement.

Secrecy around the treaty negotiation has fueled concerns that its
terms will undermine vital consumer interests.

Organizations signing the letter include: Consumers Union, Electronic
Frontier Foundation, Essential Action, IP Justice, Knowledge Ecology
International, Public Knowledge, Global Trade Watch, U.S. Public
Interest Research Group, IP Left (Korea), Australian Digital Alliance,
The Canadian Library Association, Consumers Union of Japan, National
Consumer Council (UK) and Doctors without Borders=92 Campaign for
Essential Medicines.

Based on leaked documents and industry comments on the proposed
treaty, the groups expressed concerns that ACTA may:

* Require Internet Service Providers to monitor all consumers'
Internet communications;

* Interfere with fair use of copyrighted materials;

* Criminalize peer-to-peer electronic file sharing; and

* Undermine access to low-cost generic medicines.

"Because the text of the treaty and relevant discussion documents
remain secret, the public has no way of assessing whether and to what
extent these and related concerns are merited," say the public
interest groups in their letter.

Worsening the problem is the perception that industry lobbyists have
access to the text and are influencing the negotiations. "The lack of
transparency in negotiations of an agreement that will affect the
fundamental rights of citizens of the world is fundamentally
undemocratic. It is made worse by the public perception that lobbyists
from the music, film, software, video games, luxury goods and
pharmaceutical industries have had ready access to the ACTA text and
pre-text discussion documents through long-standing communication
channels."

"Why in the world are trade negotiators keeping the treaty a secret?"
asks Robert Weissman, director of Essential Action. "Are they worried
about counterfeiters influencing the negotiations? What possible
rationale is there for secrecy -- other than to lock out the public?
Intentionally or not, a treaty to prevent unauthorized copying may
easily go too far, and undermine important consumer interests. That's
why it is so important that this deal be negotiated in the light of
day."

The full text of the letter and the list of signers are available at: http:=
//www.essentialaction.org/access/uploads/ACTA-signon.rtf

Additional quotes from international groups signing the letter are
available at:
http://www.essentialaction.org/access/uploads/ACTAquotes.rtf

You can also access the documents at: www.essentialaction.org/access/index.=
php?/archives/173-Secret-Counterfeiting-Treaty-Public-Must-be-Made-Public,-=
Global-Organizations-Say.html



Essential Action is a public health and corporate accountability group
located in Washington, DC.

***Additional Comments on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Negotiations***

Kimberlee Weatherall, Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The
University of Queensland, and Board Member, Australian Digital
Alliance "It's extraordinary that a treaty which potentially affects
such a wide range of interests would be negotiated behind closed
doors: there's too much at stake. Secrecy is only increasing people's
fears, and the belief that the negotiations aren't taking sufficient
account of the public interest."

Professor David Fewer, Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest
Clinic (CIPPIC), University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law
"We're looking for the Canadian government to show leadership in
introducing transparency and responsible consumer consultation to ACTA
discussions."

Professor Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-
commerce Law, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law
=93ACTA has raised concerns for millions of citizens around the world.
The time has come to lift the veil of secrecy and ensure that the
future negotiations occur in an open and transparent environment.=94

Heeseob Nam, IP Left, Seoul, Korea
"ACTA is another name for "kicking away the ladder" with which the
industrialised nations climbed to the top. During the debate of Patent
Act of 1790, Richard Wells argued that Americans should not be
deprived of the advantage of imitating any of the English invention.
This argument prevailed in the U.S. House, and the importation of
patents became prohibited. This policy objective was invigorated by
discrimination against foreign inventors in the US, and the statute
lasted for about 70 years after 1793."

Gwen Hinze, International Policy Director, Electronic Frontier
Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USA
"Despite its potentially harmful impact on consumers' privacy and free
expression, and on Internet innovation, the citizens that stand to be
directly affected by ACTA's provisions have been given almost no
information about its contents. A leaked document includes new legal
regimes to "encourage ISPs to cooperate with right holders", criminal
measures, and increased border search powers, all of which raise
considerable concern for citizens' civil liberties. Given the
expedited timeframe in which it is being negotiated, citizens deserve
to see the full text of ACTA now, so that they can evaluate its impact
on their lives."

James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI),
Washington, DC, USA
"Counterfeiting, properly defined, is a serious problem.  Why the top
secret negotiating approach for this treaty?  The USTR won't even give
us the agendas of the meetings or the names of the negotiators, or the
proposed texts  -- stuff that is normally transparent.  I think the
answer is the bogus use of an emotive term, counterfeiting, to push an
unbalanced IP enforcement agenda, without any attention to civil or
consumer rights.  Unfortunately, there is bipartisan support for this
assault on openness and transparency. Little wonder most people don't
trust governments these days.  Why should they?"

Sherwin Siy, Staff Attorney and Director of Global Knowledge
Initiative, Public Knowledge, Washington, DC, USA
=93It's incredible that such a significant document on such vital issues
can move forward when virtually nothing is known or shared about its
actual contents. If we are going to have international agreements on
matters so essential to the exchange of speech, information, and
knowledge, these agreements cannot be made in secret.=94




--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/