Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

"ACTA" redirects here. For other uses, see Acta.

ACTA
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
French: Accord commercial anti-contrefaçon
Spanish: Acuerdo Comercial Anti-Falsificación
TypePlurilateral agreement
Drafted
  • 15 November 2010 (final revision)[1]
  • 15 April 2011 (formal publication)[2]
Signed1 October 2011
LocationTokyo, Japan
EffectiveNot in force
ConditionRatification by six states
Negotiators
Signatories
  •  Australia
  •  Canada
  •  European Union (+22 members)[3]
  •  Japan
  •  Mexico[4]
  •  Morocco
  •  New Zealand
  •  Singapore
  •  South Korea
  •  United States
Parties1 (Japan)[5]
RatifiersJapan
DepositaryJapan Government of Japan
LanguagesEnglish, French and Spanish
Full text
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement at Wikisource

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a multilateral treaty for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement that did not enter into force. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet, and would create a new governing body outside existing forums, such as the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the United Nations.

The agreement was signed in October 2011 by Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States.[6] In 2012, Mexico, the European Union and 22 countries that are member states of the European Union signed as well.[7] One signatory (Japan) has ratified (formally approved) the agreement, which would come into force in countries that ratified it after ratification by six countries.

Industrial groups with interests in copyright, trademarks and other types of intellectual property said that ACTA was a response to "the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works". Organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America and International Trademark Association are understood to have had a significant influence over the ACTA agenda.[8]

Organisations representing citizens and non-governmental interests argued that ACTA could infringe fundamental rights including freedom of expression and privacy. ACTA has also been criticised by Doctors Without Borders for endangering access to medicines in developing countries.[9] The nature of negotiations was criticized as secretive and has excluded non-governmental organizations, developing countries and the general public from the agreement's negotiation process and it has been described as policy laundering by critics including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Entertainment Consumers Association.

The signature of the EU and many of its member states resulted in widespread protests across Europe. European Parliament rapporteur Kader Arif resigned. His replacement, British MEP David Martin, recommended that the Parliament should reject ACTA, stating: "The intended benefits of this international agreement are far outweighed by the potential threats to civil liberties". On 4 July 2012, the European Parliament declined its consent, effectively rejecting it, 478 votes to 39, with 165 abstentions.[10][11]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference europa.eu joint statement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference international.gc.ca 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference DepositaryEU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference DepositaryMx was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ratification was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Jason Walsh (11 February 2012). "Europe's Internet revolt: Protesters see threats in antipiracy treaty". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  7. ^ Olivia Solon (26 January 2012). "The EU signs up to Acta, but French MEP quits in protest". Wired UK. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  8. ^ Monica Horten, A Copyright Masquerade - How Corporate Lobbying Threatens Online Freedoms, pp. 41–65, archived from the original on 6 August 2013, retrieved 17 August 2013
  9. ^ "A Blank Cheque For Abuse — The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and its Impact on Access to Medicines" (PDF). Médecins Sans Frontières. February 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  10. ^ Monica Horten (4 July 2012). "Wow what a scorcher! ACTA slaughtered 478 to 39". Iptegrity.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference EP_Vote was invoked but never defined (see the help page).