[A2k] IP-Watch: EU, US Consumer Groups Issue Resolution On Enforcement; Demand Role In ACTA

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/06/23/eu-us-consumer-groups-issue-resol=
ution-on-enforcement-demand-role-in-acta/

23 June 2009
EU, US Consumer Groups Issue Resolution On Enforcement; Demand Role In
ACTA
By Robinson Esalimba for Intellectual Property Watch and William New @
11:23 am

A international coalition of consumer groups has issued a resolution
calling into question global enforcement policy and offering core
principles for policymakers to consider in setting new enforcement
standards.

The Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue on 18 June issued the resolution
on the enforcement of copyright, trademarks, patents and other
intellectual property rights. The TACD is a trade advisory body to the
European Union and United States government, and brings together 80
member organisations from those regions, claiming a direct paid-up
membership of some 20 million consumers.

The resolution calls for a halt to the plurilateral negotiation of an
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) led by the United States,
until the negotiating texts are made available to consumer groups and
other conditions are met.

TACD wants future negotiations to be respectful of civil liberties
such as the right to privacy and also demands the inclusion of
developing countries in ACTA negotiations as the stated intention is
to extend and apply the treaty to them. The resolution offers
recommendations to ensure IP enforcement policies and practices
address issues such as transparency, evidence and process,
competitiveness, consumer protection, human rights, access to
knowledge, and digital rights.

The resolution reflects discussions TACD had with representatives from
the EU and the US government on 9 June, during the TACD 10th annual
meeting in Brussels (IPW, Enforcement, 11 June 2009). But the
resolution was released for the first time on 18 June and forms part
of a larger effort by TACD to push back on the IP rights enforcement
issues, according to consumer representatives.

The 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 ACTA, new customs procedures
through the World Customs Organization (WCO), anti-counterfeiting
measures at the World Health Organization (WHO), World Trade
Organization (WTO) disputes over enforcement, and proposals in Europe
for =93graduated response=94 penalties and other internet filtering
solutions. It also includes EU directives and bills pending before the
US Congress and other countries to further strengthen IP enforcement,
bilateral trade agreements, and unilateral trade sanctions by the EU
and the US.

=93All those with an interest in public health need to be very worried
about the intellectual property enforcement agenda,=94 Sophie Bloemen of
Health Action International (HAI), a TACD member, said in a statement
along with 10 other groups. =93Some of the enforcement initiatives
developed under the guise of =91anti-counterfeiting=92 moves will 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

=93The global push by incumbent multinational 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,=94 said Eddan Katz
of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), another TACD member. =93We
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 of the knowledge
economy for the benefit of many rather than the few is what is at
stake in the wrong direction now taken by our trade negotiators.=94

According to Anne-Catherine Lorrain of the TACD secretariat, the
organisation will be scheduling meetings with various US and EU
agencies, EU members of parliament and US congressional members to
follow up on the resolution recommendations.

Robinson Esalimba may be reached at resalimba@ip-watch.ch.

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru@keionline.org


Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Mobile: +41 76 508 0997