IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
In 2007 a select handful of the wealthiest countries began a treaty-making process to create a new global standard for intellectual property rights enforcement, the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is spearheaded by the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Switzerland -- those countries with the largest intellectual property industries. Other countries invited to participate in ACTA’s negotiation process are Canada, Australia, Korea, Mexico and New Zealand. Noticeably absent from ACTA’s negotiations are leaders from developing countries who hold national policy priorities that differ from the international intellectual property industry....
IP Justice White Paper on the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Anti-Consumer and Anti-Public Interest Treaty Proposed by Intellectual Property Industry, US, Europe, Switzerland, and Japan
Provisions for ACTA – According to Office of US Trade Representative
According to Oct. 2007 USTR "Fact Sheet", the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) would contain the following provisions: International Cooperation, Enforcement Practices & New Legal Framework....
ACTA’s Misguided Effort to Increase Govt Spying and Ratchet-Up IPR Enforcement at Public Expense
IP Justice Comments to the U.S.T.R. on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). IP Justice firmly believes that ACTA’s costs to the public far outweigh any public benefit it might provide. The financial expense to tax-payers to fund ACTA would be enormous and steal scarce resources away from programs that deal with genuine public needs like providing education and eliminating hunger. ACTA would burden the judicial system and divert badly needed law enforcement and customs resources away from public security and towards private profit. Unfortunately the zeal to “beef-up†enforcement measures on which ACTA rides often leads to the violation of privacy rights, bypassing due process protections, and cutting-off the free flow of information. ACTA proposes to set new international norms to lock countries into pre-determined policy choices when flexibility is needed.
Public-Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment
Why is Free Expression Important in an Information Society? The UK-based "Freedom of Expression Project" posted "Public Interest Principles for the Networked Communications Environment". The draft document provides useful analysis on the importance of freedom of expression, open standards, interoperability, respect for privacy, and balanced copyright law as key policy goals for a healthy and robust information society. The project aims to complete an agreed set of principles by December 2008....
8-10 Sept. 2008: Yale’s A2K-3 Conference in Geneva (3rd Access to Knowledge Conference)
The Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School will host the third Access to Knowledge Conference (A2K3) September 8-10, 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland. It will be held at the Geneva International Conference Centre and will bring together hundreds of decision-makers and experts on global knowledge to discuss the urgent need for policy reforms.
Sign the Petition to EU Parliament to Use Open Standards and Promote Interoperability
If you are a European citizen, sign the petition to "Open Parliament" and encourage the use of open standards and interoperable systems in the European ICT sector. The Open Parliament Petition states that citizens should not have to use the software of a single company in order to communicate with their elected officials or participate in the legislate process. All companies should be given the chance to compete freely for contacts to supply ICT services to the European Parliament. Read and sign the full-petition here....
Text Adopted by WIPO Copyright Committee on Exceptions and Limitations
Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua and Uruguay presented a proposal which elaborated further the proposal by the delegation of Chile (SCCR/13/5). Many of the delegations who took the floor supported the proposal, in whole or in part. Other delegations expressed support or opposition to specific elements of document SCCR/13/5, which are reflected in their interventions in the report of the meeting....
WIPO Member States Request Agenda for Copyright Exceptions and Limitations
A group of developing countries submitted a proposal for a work program for WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights (SCCR) on 10 March 2008. The new proposal from Brazil, Chile, Nicaragua and Uruguay, calls for work on three areas: identification from members’ national IP systems of models and practices on exceptions and limitations; analysis of exceptions and limitations needed to promote and disseminate creation and innovation; and establishment of an agreement on exceptions and limitations for the public interest, as a minimum in all national legislatio
Statement of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on an Internet Bill of Rights at the IGF Consultations in Geneva
Our mission is as follows: Bring awareness and promote fundamental human and civil rights and liberties on the internet; Identify ways in which these rights and liberties can be translated on the Internet, and evaluate the applicability of existing legislation; Promote the addressing of issues of human and civil rights in policy-making proposals by all stakeholders; Promote the specification of how the existing rights can be applied and what they practically imply in the context of new ICT technologies; Identify ways in which new rights and principles deriving from the innovations caused by the Internet can be defined, agreed and promoted when necessary; Seek to identify measures for the protection and enforcement of these rights; Seek to engage the various stakeholders within the Coalition's mission and express the Coalition's interest to work with them....
Class Action Lawsuit Against Network Solutions & ICANN for “Front-Running” of Domains and Defrauding Consumers
Network Solutions has forced millions of people to buy Internet domain names from them instead of cheaper competitors through a scheme that's netted the firm millions of dollars, a federal class action lawsuit filed today by Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP states. ICANN, whose policies facilitate the scheme, is also named in the suit, filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Each time someone asks Network Solutions about a domain name, the firm creates a monopoly for itself, forcing consumers to pay the price they demand," said Brian Kabateck, lead counsel in the class action and Kabateck Brown Kellner's Managing Partner. Whenever someone searches for the availability of a domain name through Network Solutions' website, the company immediately registers the name for itself, preventing other companies from selling it and forcing consumers to pay Network Solutions' expensive fees. If a consumer were to go to another, cheaper site to register the name, they would find the name is "unavailable." Consumers are never informed that inquiring as to a name's availability through Network Solutions results in the company holding a monopoly on selling that name. This allows Network Solutions to continue charging substantially higher prices for domain name registration. Network Solutions charged $34.99 to register the name sought by this suit's lead plaintiff. A competitor would have charged $9.99. Network Solutions' scheme is made possible by ICANN. ICANN allows companies that sell domain names to avoid paying registration fees for names cancelled within five days. Thus, Network Solutions can defraud customers at no cost to itself....
Background Information on the WIPO Development Agenda
Background Information on the WIPO Development Agenda Development Agenda in 2004 Led by Brazil and Argentina (and the Group of Friends of Development), developing nations issued a strong call for reform at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) and adopted a “Development Agenda” in an effort to replace WIPO’s [...]