On Saturday, July 17, 2010, I said on twitter, “Apparently Luc Devigne is out as head #acta negotiator for EU.” There were a number of sources for this inside the European Union and also among other trade bodies or governments following or participating in the ACTA negotiations.
This was re-tweeted extensively, and resulted in various commentary and reporting on LucDevigne’s rule in ACTA, including speculation on the reasons for the change.
Article 2.3 of the July 1, 2010 version of the ACTA text provides for “Other Remedies” for infringement. The Japan, Switzerland and EU versions of the text appear to be overreaching, including for example by directly conflicting with explicit TRIPS provisions and provisions in the laws of ACTA negotiating countries, including several European Countries.
The July 1, 2010 ACTA text includes several provisions that would set global norms for damages, including most importantly, on pages 6 and 7, Article 2.2 on Damages. Also relevant are the provisions in Article 2.X on General Obligations with Respect to Enforcement, on page 5.
From the July 1, 2010 text of ACTA:
Article 2.X InjunctionsThe July 23, 1990 Draft WTO text on TRADE IN COUNTERFEIT AND PIRATED GOODS
The July 23, 1990 draft of the TRIPS Agreement contained the following proposal to deal with trade in counterfeit and pirated goods.
PART IX: TRADE IN COUNTERFEIT AND PIRATED GOODS1. Preamble
MTN.GNG/NG11/W/76
Page 331B.1 Desirous of providing for adequate procedures and remedies to discourage international trade in counterfeit and
pirated goods while ensuring an unimpeded flow of trade in legitimate goods;China describes TRIPS Council proposal on ACTA and other plurilateral enforcement agreements.
At a June 28, 2010 Geneva workshop on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Dr. Zhao Hong, from the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the World Trade Organization, distributed a proposal that was prepared for the June 8-9, 2010 meeting of the WTO TRIPS Council:
Decisions to be takenDecision of the TRIPS Council on the Relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and Intellectual Property Provisions of bilateral, plurilteral Trade Agreeements
Members,
Comparison of the four proposals on disabilities at WIPO SCCR
The attached table, prepared as a collaboration between KEI and the WBU, provides a comparison of the four proposals being discussed this week at the WIPO SCCR 20, as regards to the provisions about access to copyrighted works for persons with disabilities. The African Group proposal includes additional issues, but in this table, we only examine those that relate specifically to persons with disabilities. Continue Reading
Remembering Al and Tipper Gore
The announcement this week that Al and Tipper Gore have separated brought back a number of memories. I first worked with Al Gore’s office in 1990, when I was an employee of the Center for the Study of Responsive Law, working with the American Library Association (ALA) and other library groups to overturn a Reagan era policy to privatize the distribution of government databases. Among other things, I had worked with Representative Charlie Rose to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives to create an online distribution system at the Government Printing Office (GPO). Continue Reading
Costs and Benefits of the US Proposal to WIPO SCCR on Copyright Exceptions for Disabilities
On May 27, 2010, the US government presented to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), a proposal for a “Consensus Instrument” for persons with disabilities related to reading printed publications.
WIPO SCCR open ended consultation on the treaty for the blind
I plan to write up a more detailed analysis of the WIPO open ended consultation on the treaty for persons who are blind or have other disabilities. I did want to make a few quick notes, however.