[A2k] Press Release - TACD issues Resolution on IP Enforcement

[Anne-Catherine Lorrain]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
PRESS RELEASE - June 18th, 2009

http://www.tacd-ip.org/blog/2009/06/18/tacd-issues-resolution-on-iprs-enfor=
cement


The *TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue* (TACD) today issued a Resolution on
the enforcement of copyright, trademarks, patents and other intellectual
property rights<http://tacd.org/index2.php?option=3Dcom_docman&task=3Ddoc_v=
iew&gid=3D234&Itemid=3D40>(
http://tacd.org/index2.php?option=3Dcom_docman&task=3Ddoc_view&gid=3D234&It=
emid=3D40
).


The TACD Resolution comes at a time when governments in Europe and North
America are considering a wide range of new global standards for IP
enforcement.  Among those new norms are the proposed =93Anti-Counterfeiting=
=94
Trade Agreement (ACTA) [On April 6, 2009, USTR released a detailed summary
of the current state of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
negotiations:
http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/factsheets/2009/asset_uploa=
d_file917_15546.pdf
], new customs procedures through the World Customs Organization (WCO),
anti-Counterfeiting measures at the World Health Organization (WHO), WTO
disputes over enforcement, proposals in Europe for =93graduated response=94=
 and
other Internet filtering solutions, several European Union Directives and
bills pending before the U.S. Congress and other countries on the topic of
IP enforcement, bilateral trade agreements, and unilateral trade sanctions
by Europe and the United States.


The 2,000 word TACD Resolution touches on a wide range of topics relating t=
o
IP enforcement policies and practices, ranging from transparency, evidence
and process, to both general and detailed recommendations on substantive
policies.  TACD first discussed the Resolution with representatives from th=
e
European Union and the U.S. Government on June 9, 2009, during the TACD 10t=
h
Annual Meeting in Brussels.


The following are comments about the Resolution from members of the TACD
(Quotes are arranged in alphabetical order):*
*

*
*

*Edouard Barreiro*, UFC-Que Choisir, Paris (France)

=93*It seems essential to legalize out-of-market exchanges of copyrighted
content, which belong to the natural evolution of uses and of consumption.
Even if such uses don=92t compete with the so called =93legal offers=94 of
content, they have to offer creators a fair compensation, with the help of
adapted mechanisms allowing a fair and equitable remuneration*.=94*
*

*
*

*Sophie Bloemen*, Health Action International (HAI) Europe, Amsterdam (The
Netherlands)

=93*All those with an interest in public health need to be very worried abo=
ut
the Intellectual Property enforcement agenda. Some of the enforcement
initiatives developed under the guise of =91anti-counterfeiting=92 moves, w=
ill
in reality hamper the legitimate trade in generics and as a result pose a
serious threat to access to essential medicines in developing countries*.=
=94*
*

*
*

*Hans Marius Graasvold*, the Consumer Council of Norway, Oslo (Norway)

=93*Technological development and the Internet have empowered consumers in
terms of increased choice of goods and services, and new ways of
communication. However, **enforcement initiatives by owners of copyright
increasingly interfere with the way consumers enjoy the Internet as well as
their basic rights, such as due process, consumer privacy and the principle
of proportionality. A recent example is the =91graduated response=92 method=
,
which may include use of undue surveillance of consumers and cutting of
Internet access in cases of suspicion of copyright infringement. This
resolution sends out a clear message on behalf of European and North
American consumers that basic consumer rights must be fully respected when
seeking to protect and enforce copyright*.=94*
*

*
*

*Jill Johnstone*, Consumer Focus, London (UK)

 =93*Too often governments and industry have reached for new enforcement to=
ols
to tackle the challenges posed by the internet rather than the development
of new business models.  It is essential that proposals for online
enforcement of IPRs clearly distinguish between commercial and
non-commercial infringement and respect fundamental human rights.*=94*
*

*
*

*Eddan Katz*, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), San Francisco, CA (USA)
+1 415 436 9333 ext. 133

* *

=93*The effective enforcement of intellectual property depends on the
legitimacy of law and the balance of rights. The global push by incumbent
multi-national corporations for lopsided regulation to protect their
business models negotiated behind closed doors is undermining public
confidence in the important fight to protect consumers against
counterfeiting and piracy. We call for responsible policymaking on IP
enforcement based on empirical evidence and meaningful public debate,
especially at this pivotal moment of technological innovation. The future o=
f
the knowledge economy for the benefit of many rather than the few is what i=
s
at stake in the wrong direction now taken by our trade negotiators*.=94*
*

*
*

*Anne-Catherine Lorrain*, TACD, Brussels (Belgium)

=93*The TACD Resolution is important to place the debate of =93IP enforceme=
nt=94
in its general context, **addressing the legitimate concerns of both right
holders and consumers. This resolution shows how consumers are concerned
about those issues, and wish to make their voice heard on both sides of the
Atlantic. How could policy-makers ignore this?*=94*
*

*
*

*James Love*, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Washington, DC (US)

=93*Lawmakers often give speeches about the need for tougher enforcement of
intellectual property rules, as if this is a simple topic.  The TACD
resolution provides a detailed framework to evaluate such proposals, dealin=
g
explicitly with dozens of important and complex topics that really matter.
If the enforcement of intellectual property is important, law makers would
do well to read this timely and thoughtful TACD resolution, and use it to
evaluate any new global norms or national policies*.=94*
*

*
*

*Ed Mierzwinski*, Consumer Program Director U.S. Public Interest Research
Group (PIRG), Washington, DC (US)

=93The public should be outraged that powerful rightsholders, including dru=
g
companies and various content publishers, have asked governments to use
secretive trade and treaty processes to eliminate access to medicines and
knowledge and possibly criminalize normal behavior.=94*
*

*
*

*Marco Pierani*, Altroconsumo, Rome (Italy)

=93*Continuing to elaborate new and increasingly invasive forms of copyrigh=
t
enforcement is unacceptable for consumers. **The challenge we are facing
today goes far beyond the evident need to combat the **so called digital an=
d
multimedia =93piracy=94. It consists instead in finding a shared approach f=
or
restoring to normality a market sector that lost its way some time
ago,**and that needs
** to innovate its structures,** safeguarding the great opportunities
represented by the Internet in terms of development of freedom of
information, democratic participation and efficiency of the market.*=94*
*

*
*

*Rashmi Rangnath*, Public Knowledge, Washington, DC (US)

=93*The release of the TACD resolution on enforcement coincides with the
USTR=92s recent announcement to seek greater public input in the ACTA proce=
ss.
We hope that the United States government will consider the recommendations
laid out in the TACD resolution in formulating a new policy based on
transparency*.

*
*

*Kostas Rossoglou*, European Consumers=92 Organisation (BEUC), Brussels
(Belgium)

=93*BEUC calls on decision makers in Brussels not to give in to the wish of
the content industry to apply draconian measures to enforce intellectual
property rights, including criminalization of consumers. Applying
enforcement measures that do not take into account the crucial difference
between commercial scale infringers operating for profit and individual
citizens is, at a minimum, disproportionate.. Such practices fail to comply
with fundamental rights and freedoms, namely the freedom of expression, the
right of confidentiality of communications, the right to privacy, the right
to due process, the presumption of innocence and the right of defense.*=94


=97=97=97=97=96

*COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE *- 18 juin 2009*
*

 Le Dialogue TransAtlantique des Consommateurs (TACD) a aujourd=92hui publi=
=E9
une *R=E9solution sur le respect du droit d=92auteur, du droit des marques =
et
d=92autres droits de propri=E9t=E9
intellectuelle*<http://tacd.org/index2.php?option=3Dcom_docman&task=3Ddoc_v=
iew&gid=3D234&Itemid=3D40>(
http://tacd.org/index2.php?option=3Dcom_docman&task=3Ddoc_view&gid=3D234&It=
emid=3D40
).


Cette R=E9solution du TACD est adopt=E9e alors que les gouvernants europ=E9=
ens et
am=E9ricains travaillent actuellement =E0 l=92=E9tablissement d=92un vaste =
ensemble de
normes visant =E0 la mise en =9Cuvre des droits de propri=E9t=E9 intellectu=
elle.
Parmi ces normes en cours d=92=E9laboration se trouvent notamment l=92Accor=
d
commercial anti-contrefa=E7on (*Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement*: ACTA)
[le 6 avril 2009, le *D=E9partement** *du* **Commerce am=E9ricain* (USTR) a
publi=E9 un r=E9sum=E9 sur l'=E9tat des n=E9gociations de l'Accord :
http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/factsheets/2009/asset_uploa=
d_file917_15546.pdf],
de nouvelles proc=E9dures douani=E8res discut=E9es par les membres de
l=92Organisation Mondiale des Douanes (OMD), des mesures =AB anti-contrefa=
=E7on =BB
n=E9goci=E9es par l=92Organisation Mondiale de la Sant=E9 (OMS), des d=E9ci=
sions de
r=E9solution des litiges de l=92Organisation Mondiale du Commerce (OMC), de=
s
propositions l=E9gislatives europ=E9ennes pr=F4nant la =AB riposte gradu=E9=
e =BB ou
d=92autres solutions de filtrage des r=E9seaux Internet, plusieurs Directiv=
es
europ=E9ennes ainsi que des projets de loi actuellement examin=E9s par le
Congr=E8s am=E9ricain et d=92autres gouvernements nationaux, des trait=E9s
commerciaux bilat=E9raux, et des sanctions commerciales unilat=E9rales mise=
s en
=9Cuvre par l=92Europe et les Etats-Unis.


La R=E9solution adopt=E9e par les membres du TACD illustre la vari=E9t=E9 d=
es
questions soulev=E9es par les politiques et pratiques de mise en =9Cuvre de=
s
droits de propri=E9t=E9 intellectuelle, allant de la justification des
politiques men=E9es au principe de transparence des n=E9gociation des norme=
s, en
passant par la recommandation aux d=E9cideurs de points d=92action pratique=
s et
pr=E9cis.  Cette R=E9solution a d=92abord fait l=92objet d=92une discussion=
 avec les
repr=E9sentants de l=92Union Europ=E9enne et du gouvernement am=E9ricain, =
=E0
l=92occasion du Sommet Annuel du TACD qui s=92est tenu =E0 Bruxelles du 8 a=
u 9
juin 2009.

-------

Anne-Catherine Lorrain
Intellectual Property Policy Project
The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)
80, rue d'Arlon, B-1040 Bruxelles
aclorrain@gmail.com
aclorrain@consint.org
Mob (Belgium): +32 473 99 97 92
Tel: +32 2 740 28 17, Fax: +32 2 740 28 02
www.tacd.org
www.tacd-ip.org/blog