by Robin Gross, IP justice
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a dangerous proposal to radically expand intellectual property rights at the global level. The draft agreement has been negotiated in secret, without inclusion of developing nation perspectives, and without any participation from civil society or regard for the global public interest. ACTA specifically targets the Internet and regulates the flow of information in a digital environment. ACTA would create significant negative consequences for fundamental freedoms, access to medicines, innovation, the balance of public/private interests, access to knowledge and culture, to name a few of its problems. ACTA represents a “wish list” from Hollywood and Big Pharma which will be imposed unilaterally on developing countries through trade pressure from the US, Europe and other wealthy states.
Please consider signing on to the below (draft) International Civil Society Declaration, which was the result of a meeting in Washington, DC this week of over 90 academics from 5 continents, public interest organizations and other legal experts concerned with the public interest aspects of ACTA. The meeting of international experts was hosted by American University Washington College of Law Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP).Both organizations and individuals are welcome to sign-on to the statement until 23 June 9am (US East Coast time) by email to < acta.declaration@gmail.com >.
Further details for sign-on and proposing edits to the draft declaration are below. Please take a moment and read the declaration and consider signing-on and adding your support to raise awareness on ACTA. And also please help to spread the word and gather additional civil society support from your own networks and contacts by forwarding this email on to others or reference to the website: http://www.wcl.american.edu/pijip/go/blog-post/urgent-acta-communique for details.
The next closed-door ACTA negotiations are scheduled for 28 June - 2 July 2010 in Lucerne, Switzerland, and the US promises a final agreement will be concluded shortly thereafter. Time is of the essence to act on ACTA.
Thank you for any support and assistance you can provide to raise awareness on the public interest concerns with ACTA. It is only through global grass-roots efforts and small individual actions made by many people that we can fight to overcome this flawed treaty.
