[A2k] Education International on ACTA

[Manon Ress]

http://ei-ie.org/en/article/show.php?id=3D195&theme=3Dgats

Articles
[2010-01-22] Educators beware: The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

In early November, negotiators from the United States, Japan, the
European Union, Canada and a select handful of other nations huddled
together in a closed-door session in Seoul, South Korea.

It was the latest in a continuing effort to hammer out a new global
treaty ostensibly aimed at cracking down on the traffic in counterfeit
goods. But the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in
fact has little to do with counterfeiting, or even with trade for that
matter. It is instead a copyright treaty that would fundamentally
ratchet up legal protections for rights-holders. If a deal is reached,
it could have serious implications for heavy users of copyrighted
material, including students, teachers and researchers.

ACTA has been inexplicably shrouded in secrecy since talks were
launched two years ago. The lack of transparency is perplexing
because, after all, we=92re talking about a copyright treaty, not state
secrets. Or so it would seem. In fact, the U.S. government refused a
request from two public interest groups =96 the Electronic Frontier
Foundation and Knowledge Ecology International -- to release
information on the treaty for reasons of =93national security=94.

Despite the best efforts of those involved to keep the public in the
dark, there has been a steady stream of leaks about the content of
ACTA. We don=92t know everything about ACTA, but we=92re getting a pretty
good picture of what=92s being planned. According to a leaked background
note and a European Commission briefing paper, we know that the
primary goal is to create new international copyright rules that go
far beyond what currently exist in treaties under the United Nations=92
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The deal would
establish a new global institution with a secretariat and with a
legally-binding dispute resolution process. ACTA would grant border
guards increased powers to search people and personal property,
including laptops and other electronic devices, raising some serious
privacy concerns. It would create criminal provisions that would apply
not only to the commercial infringement of copyright, but also to
infringement for non-financial gain, such as educational, research,
and personal uses.

ACTA would also set strict new rules related to Internet material. The
proposed provisions would oblige governments who sign on to the deal
to adopt a =93three strikes and you=92re out=94 rule. This would require
that Internet service providers cut off subscribers after three
allegations of copyright infringement. For educators, this would apply
to material posted on a site for students, for instance. And if you=92re
accused of breaking copyright rules, you won=92t get a court date or
have a chance to appeal. It would only take three unproven allegations
for an ISP to be legally required to suspend your account.

The treaty would provide legal protection for digital locks and
security protection on material, provisions that draw upon the U.S.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), but extend far beyond
existing international law. As some American teachers and researchers
have learned the hard way, these so-called =93anti-circumvention=94
measures have had the unintended consequence of stifling scientific
research. Since the DCMA has been in force, a number of computer
scientists researching software and network security have faced
lawsuits and criminal prosecution as a result of their legitimate
research activities into anti-circumvention technologies.

It=92s clear there is much at stake for educators and students around
the world. If a deal is reached, ACTA would ratchet up and lock-in
onerous restrictions on copyrighted works. It would further narrow the
meaning of fair use, making it more difficult for teachers and
students to access and use material for education purposes.

If extended to the developing world, the treaty could dramatically
reshape domestic copyright law =96 in effect exporting the worst
features of the DCMA. In many countries where textbooks and
educational materials are scarce or prohibitively expensive, teachers
and students have little choice but to infringe copyright in order to
access the information and resources they need. If this access is cut
off or restricted by a legally binding treaty, the impact on classroom
instruction could be devastating. It comes as little surprise then
that the impetus for ACTA began at the same time that developing
countries, through WIPO, began pressing for a new pro-development
approach to international copyright rules that would allow for broader
exceptions for educational and research purposes. Set against this
light, ACTA represents the new frontline in an emerging global battle
over copyright.

The good news is that ACTA isn=92t a done deal. There=92s still time to
demand greater transparency and to press for a more balanced approach
to global copyright rules. Educators have a unique role to play in
this debate. As teachers, we understand well the need for a robust
global information commons, where ideas and knowledge exist not simply
as property but also as the shared heritage of humanity.

David Robinson is associate executive director of the Canadian
Association of University Teachers and a consultant on higher
education and trade with Education International, the global
federation of teachers=92 unions.

***************************************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673

Il vaut mieux remuer une question, sans la d=E9cider, que la d=E9cider,
sans la remuer. (Pens=E9es, essais, maximes et correspondance de J.
Joubert  p.249)
Translation: It is better to debate a question without settling it
than to settle a question without debating it