[A2k] ACTA and WIPO

[Michael Geist]

I've got an opinion piece in IP Watch that may interest.  The piece
focuses on the recent admission that ACTA is a direct result of the
shift at WIPO toward the Development Agenda.  I argue that:

"In the short-term, WIPO members can expect progress on Development
Agenda issues to stall as ACTA partners focus on completing their
treaty. Given the scepticism surrounding the Development Agenda
harboured by some ACTA countries, they may be less willing to promote
the Agenda since their chief global policy priorities now occur
outside of WIPO.

The longer-term implications are even more significant. While it seems
odd to conclude an anti-counterfeiting treaty without the
participation of the countries most often identified as the sources or
targets of counterfeiting activities, the ACTA member countries will
undoubtedly work quickly to establish the treaty as a "global
standard." Non-member countries will face great pressure to adhere to
the treaty or to implement its provisions within their domestic laws,
particularly as part of bilateral or multilateral trade negotiations.
In other words, there will be a concerted effort to transform a
plurilateral agreement into a multilateral one, though only the
original negotiating partners will have had input into the content of
the treaty."

How to counter this?  I suggest that the best approach may be for
developing countries to demand a seat at the table -- turn ACTA into a
multilateral negotiation process that better reflects all views,
likely slows the momentum, and effectively replicates much of the WIPO
stalemate within ACTA.

The full piece is at <http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/04/14/the-acta-threat-to-the-future-of-wipo/
 >

MG
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Professor Michael A. Geist
Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law
57 Louis Pasteur St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5
Tel: 613-562-5800, x3319
Fax: 613-562-5124
mgeist@pobox.com              http://www.michaelgeist.ca
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