[A2k] Inquisitr's Only Prediction for 2010: ACTA

[Seth Johnson]

My only prediction for 2010 and it ain=92t pretty
> http://www.inquisitr.com/54746/my-only-prediction-for-2010-and-it-aint-pr=
etty/

   "Very little of this global trade agreement has anything
   to do with fighting piracy and has everything to do with
   dismantling individual country copyright laws and
   replacing it with a Universal Trade Agreement. The reason
   for this backdoor approach is because any and all local
   country laws would basically have no standing in disputes
   as they would be governed by the UN/WIPO backed ACTA
   treaty."


> http://www.inquisitr.com/54746/my-only-prediction-for-2010-and-it-aint-pr=
etty/


My only prediction for 2010 and it ain=92t pretty


Author : Steven Hodson

Posted: December 30, 2009


I realize that it is common practice come this time of year for us to
all sit back and ruminate over all the wonderful and earthshaking
things we have written about in the past year and to delve into the
murky depths of the future and prognosticate using our incredibly
sharp intellect what will happen in the year to come. Well I can=92t
stand doing that except in very rare occasions =96 and this is one of
those years.

I=92m not going to bother looking back because other than increasing
pageviews possibly for all of a minute or two it is a boring and
pointless exercise mainly because the majority of time, regardless of
how we might spin our past words, we=92re wrong. No, what I want to do
is to look to 2010 and the one thing that will have the most profound
effect on our lives and the Web.

It=92s a prediction that will come as a result of events that have been
happening for some time now but really has culminated in 2009 to
create a foundation from which how we use the Web and what we can do
there will be forever changed. Changed in such away that we will no
longer have the freedoms that we brag about today and seem to think
are some sort of inalienable right.

So here=92s my one and only prediction for 2010:

   This will be the year in which we will see the biggest
   assault on copyright laws around the world. The end
   result of the secret war against copyright laws and the
   consumer will be one of the total annihilation of our
   copyright laws as we know them.

Sure we have all read posts about how the entertainment industry is
trying to get changes made to existing copyright laws in various
countries and the response has for the most part been a big *YAWN* and
then it=92s on to whining and gushing respectively over Twitter and
Facebook. The problem is that the movement to gut existing copyright
laws, being led by the US entertainment industry, is only a shadow of
the real effort that will supersede any local country laws.

This is all being done behind closed doors where even government
officials are being required to sign NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreements).
Yes, NDAs on the creation of a new global treaty =96 something that has
never been done before because laws and treaties are suppose to be
open to public examination and input. This isn=92t the case with the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) however
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement).

Don=92t let the "Anti-Counterfeiting" part fool you either because in
reality very little of this global trade agreement has anything to do
with fighting piracy and has everything to do with dismantling
individual country copyright laws and replacing it with a Universal
Trade Agreement. The reason for this backdoor approach is because any
and all local country laws would basically have no standing in
disputes as they would be governed by the UN/WIPO backed ACTA treaty.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation on ACTA (emphasis is mine)
(http://www.eff.org/issues/acta/):

   In October 2007 the United States, the European
   Community, Switzerland and Japan simultaneously announced
   that they would negotiate a new intellectual property
   enforcement treaty, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
   Agreement, or ACTA. Australia, the Republic of Korea, New
   Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United
   Arab Emirates and Canada have joined the negotiations.
   Although the proposed treaty=92s title might suggest that
   the agreement deals only with counterfeit physical goods
   (such as medicines), what little information has been
   made available publicly by negotiating governments about
   the content of the treaty makes it clear that it will
   have a far broader scope, and in particular, will deal
   with new tools targetting "Internet distribution and
   information technology".

Professor Michael Geist, Canadian Professor and Canada Research Chair
in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, has been
one of the lone voice foretelling of the dangers to come with ACTA.
You can read all his posts on ACTA here, but here are a few snippets:

   Given the recent backlash at WIPO, the U.S. is avoiding
   the U.N. system.  Instead, it has created a new
   counterfeiting coalition of the willing that includes the
   European Union, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand,
   and Canada.  Those countries yesterday simultaneously
   announced enthusiastic support for a new trade agreement
   with negotiations to begin next year.  Indeed,
   International Trade Minister David Emerson=92s announcement
   to the House of Commons brought the MPs to their feet
   (http://mycelium.chanterelle.ca/en/video/play/id/471e54a975e30).

   This treaty could ultimately prove bigger than WIPO =96
   without the constraints of consensus building, developing
   countries, and civil society groups, the ACTA could
   further reshape the IP landscape with tougher
   enforcement, stronger penalties, and a gradual
   eradication of the copyright and trademark balance.

   - Is ACTA the New WIPO
(http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2318/125/)

   Rather than negotiating in an international venue such as
   the United Nations and opening the door to any interested
   countries, ACTA partners consisted of a small group of
   countries (Canada, United States, European Union, Japan,
   Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Morocco, and
   Singapore) meeting in secret and opposed broadening the
   process. The substance of the treaty was also accorded
   the highest level of secrecy.  Draft documents were not
   released to the public and even the locations of
   negotiations were often kept under wraps.  In fact, the
   U.S. government refused to disclose information about the
   treaty on national security grounds.

   - ACTA Threatens Made-in-Canada Copyright Policy
(http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4525/99999/)

   While the substance of the treaty will remain fodder for
   much debate, Canadian officials recently hosted a public
   consultation during which they acknowledged the true
   motivation behind the ACTA. Senior officials stated that
   there were really two reasons for the treaty. The first,
   unsurprisingly, was concerns over counterfeiting. The
   second was the perceived stalemate at WIPO, where the
   growing emphasis on the Development Agenda and the
   heightened participation of developing countries and non-
   governmental organisations have stymied attempts by
   countries such as the United States to bull their way
   toward new treaties with little resistance.

   - The ACTA Threat To The Future Of WIPO =96 Intellectual Property
Watch :: Michael Geist
(http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/04/14/the-acta-threat-to-the-future-of=
-wipo/)

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the assault
against copyright laws. It is an attack that is taking place around
the world: Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and the US just to
name a few. It is an attack that is taking place behind closed doors
under a shroud of secrecy that is being enforced through never before
seen NDAs at all levels.

It is planned that all these secret negotiations taking place will
finish in 2010 and the world will be presented with a new world wide
copyright/IP treaty that has been written and bullied through all
levels of individual country governments by the US entertainment
industry and their trade groups around the world.

If we think the copyright systems we have in each of our country is
draconian I can promise you this =96 you ain=92t seen nothing and if you
don=92t think this fight over copyright laws isn=92t important then you
sincerely need to give your head a shake. Under the provisions, that
we know of from leaks, of ACTA we will see a sudden shift of power on
the Internet. It will no longer be a medium of the people but instead
it will be the new money machine of the entertainment industry and any
voices against them will suddenly find themselves silenced and bereft
of any legal recourse.

It won=92t be our Internet anymore. So think about that as you all get
woodies about how important Twitter is. Think about it as you bicker
over whether RSS is dead, whether blogging is dead, or whether
real-time search is the next killer app.

I would like to think that people are smart enough to see the coming
danger =96 especially those of us in the tech industry =96 and do
something to stem this tide. Sadly though we=92re too worried about some
new shiny toy. Too worried that we don=92t have enough followers. Too
worried about whether we are among the first to be using some stupid
ass service.

The really sad part about this?

I don=92t see it changing.