Public Knowledge today outlined three principles that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) should observe before it signs the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

A copy of the comments is here.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) plan to publish a separate list of  “notorious markets” as part of its report on intellectual property emphasizes the agency’s transformation from a trade agency into a law enforcement agency, Public Knowledge (PK) said in comments to USTR filed Thursday (Nov. 5).

“The USTR should stop its transformation into a law enforcement agency,” PK said, adding that “at a minimum” the agency should “acknowledge its new enforcement agenda, and improve its process to respect legal norms.”

A full copy of the comments is here.

In its filing, PK said that USTR is trying to “have it both ways,” by claiming that the “notorious markets” list is not a finding of a violation of law, yet at the same time encouraging local authorities to increase their efforts to combat “piracy.”

Earlier today, the text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was released.  You can read it here.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“The final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) should be seen as a qualified victory for those who want to protect the digital rights of consumers around the world.  Some of the most egregious provisions from earlier drafts have been removed on topics ranging from digital protection measures to the liability of intermediaries like Internet Service Providers and search engines. The agreement would give more flexibility to the signatories than did previous versions.

Victoria Espinel, the Obama Administration’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, this morning released her first strategic plan on IP issues. The plan can be found here.

The following is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“We want to congratulate Victoria Espinel on her first intellectual property report.  Her findings show that she understands the concept of balance in copyright law at a time when others in the Administration do not.

Government agencies involved in trade negotiations should open their private-sector advisory committees to include public representatives, Public Knowledge (PK) said May 25 in a filing with the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce.

A copy of the filing is here.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

 “We are pleased that after years of asking the Administration to release the draft text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) that the public now has a look at the document.  What we have seen is less detailed than some of the versions of the proposed agreement, which have been leaked over the past few months, as the leaks attributed certain proposals to specific countries, while this draft did not.

Background: The European Parliament voted 663-13 in favor of a resolution opposing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The resolution calls on negotiators to make all documents public, and stipulates that no one can have Internet access taken away under a “three strikes” provision without a court order. The text of the resolution is here.

A good background story is here.

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

“The United States government would do well to take to heart the sentiment on the ACTA negotiations as overwhelmingly expressed by the European Parliament. Public Knowledge and others have said for months that these negotiations should be open and transparent.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) needs to change the procedures it uses to put countries on a special "watch list" for failing to protect U.S. intellectual property interests, Public Knowledge Staff Attorney Rashmi Rangnath testified today.

Speaking at the USTR hearing on the "special 301" intellectual property proceeding, Rangnath said the agency should 1) be mindful of the importance of balance to U.S. copyright law and to promote this same balanced system abroad; 2) not use the Special 301 process as a means to force countries to accede to or implement treaties; and 3) introduce greater transparency into its review process. The full written statement is here.

One of the dangers of the process, she said, is that there is no public explanation of how a country gets put on the list, which could lead to trade sanctions.

Background: The Motion Picture Association Association (MPAA) yesterday sent a letter to Capitol Hill asking for more transparency for deliberations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). A copy of the letter is here: https://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/mpaa-acta-letter-20091119.pdf

The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

A treaty being negotiated by the U.S. government dealing with intellectual property issues appears to have included parts of prior agreements “most favorable to groups of intellectual property holders” while leaving out those elements “most favorable to consumers,” Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and Public Knowledge told Congressional leaders.