ACTA is about more than counterfeits

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: March 23, 2010 8:19:03 PM EDT
To: Undisclosed-recipients: <>;
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: ACTA is about more than counterfeits

ACTA to cover seven catagories of intellectual property
http://keionline.org/node/812

Submitted by James Love on 22. March 2010 - 8:49

KEI has access to a recent draft of ACTA. Chapter One, Section B of the agreement provides for "General Definitions." 
It is interesting that the term "counterfeits" does not have a general definition. The ten defined terms include:

        • days
        • intellectual property (See below)
        • Council (ACTA Oversight Council)
        • measure
        • person (natural or juridical)
        • right owner (includes federation or assicaitons that have legal standing or authoirty to assert rights)
        • territory
        • TRIPS Agreement
        • WTO
        • WTO Agreement

ACTA is about more than counterfeits

While counterfeiting is a serious problem that deserves attention, its use in the name is widely considered a cynical 
bait and switch. The provisions on counterfeiting are hardly the focus. The agreement is really about the much broader 
topic of the enforcement of seven categories of intellectual property. According to the Chapter One general definition, 
intellectual property is defined as follows:

intellectual property refers to all categories of intellectual property that are the subject of section 1 through part 
7 of Part II of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
This is a reference to the TRIPS Agreement. The seven categories are:

        • Copyright and Related Rights
        • Trademarks
        • Geographical Indications
        • Industrial Designs
        • Patents
        • Layout-Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits
        • Protection of Undisclosed Information

By highlighting the emotive and charged term “counterfeiting,” a very serious but but fairly narrow type of trademark 
infringement and fraud, the negotiators expect to deflect scrutiny and criticism over the whole agreement, particularly 
from political leaders who cannot afford to be seen defending criminals engaged in counterfeiting unsafe products. By 
extending ACTA to cover the enforcement of seven large categories of intellectual property rights, the impact of the 
agreement on access to knowledge, innovation, consumer rights, privacy, and other topics is vastly expanded.



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