Kader Arif, a member of the Socialist and Democrat alliance within the European
Parliament (EP), who was also its rapporteur for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade
Agreement (ACTA), has resigned his role and condemned the process which led
to its conclusion.
Formal ACTA negotiations started in June 2008, with the final round of negotiations
being held in Japan in October 2010. The ACTA was opened for signature in May
last year, and at the end of September, at a ceremony, Australia, Canada, the
European Union (EU) and its member states, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Morocco,
New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States reaffirmed their commitment
to it, with eight of those countries, not including the EU, immediately signing
it.
When it enters into force with all participants, the ACTA will formalize the
legal foundation for a first-of-its-kind alliance of trading partners, representing
more than half of world trade.
The hope had been expressed that it will represent a significant achievement
in the fight against the infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR),
in particular the proliferation of counterfeiting and piracy on a global scale,
providing a mechanism for the parties to work together in a more collaborative
manner to achieve the common goal of effective IPR enforcement.
It includes provisions on civil, criminal, border and digital environment enforcement
measures, robust cooperation mechanisms among the ACTA parties to assist in
their enforcement efforts, and the establishment of best practices for effective
IPR enforcement.
With respect to the legal framework, the ACTA would establish a strengthened
standard that builds on the minimum standards of the World Trade Organization
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
It is said that this marks a considerable improvement in international trade
norms for effectively combating the current global proliferation of commercial-scale
counterfeiting and piracy.
However, during its negotiation, concern was expressed on the secrecy surrounding
its terms, leading the EP, and other parties, to regret the lack of transparency,
amidst concern as to the ACTA’s possible effect, particularly on internet
and digital rights.
In fact, in November 2010, the EP, while passing a resolution welcoming the
terms of the ACTA as a step in the right direction, called on the European Commission
(EC) to confirm that it will have no impact on either basic freedoms or existing
EU legislation. It called on the EC "to confirm that the ACTA’s implementation
will have no impact on fundamental rights and data protection, on the on-going
EU efforts to harmonize IPR enforcement measures, or on e-commerce."
Nevertheless, it has now been disclosed that the EC, on behalf of the EU, signed
the ACTA on January 26, although no press release was issued and the agreement
still requires the approval of the EP, which has the power to veto international
agreements concluded by the EU.
In fact, in the announcement of his resignation, Arif condemned “the
whole process which led to the signature of this agreement: no consultation
of the civil society, lack of transparency since the beginning of negotiations,
repeated delays in the signature of the text without any explanation given,
and rejection of the EP's recommendations as given in several of its resolutions.”
“As (EP) rapporteur on this text,” he continued, “I have
also experienced never-before-seen manoeuvers to impose a rushed calendar before
public opinion could be alerted, thus depriving the EP of its right to expression
and of the tools at its disposal to convey citizens' legitimate demands.”
He added that “everyone knows” that there are problems with the
ACTA, for example in the responsibility it could put on internet providers, and
that he wanted “to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about
this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this masquerade.”
OFFSHORE-E-COM.COM
