2009: White House: ACTA still “secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy”

By James Love, on July 31st, 2009

On Thursday, July 30, 2009, the White House office of the United States Trade Representative denied release of 4 new proposals for text that were circulated in July to “all countries” in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations. The request was limited to documents that were prepared in the past 90 days for purpose of discussion at the July 2009 ACTA negotiating meeting held in Morocco.

USTR located 4 such documents, but denied the FOIA request under 5 USC 552(b)(1). The specific exception cited reads as follows:

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ACTA and changes in global norms for damages and injunctions (for enforcement of intellectual property)

The Obama Administration, with the support of a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress, is insisting the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations be conducted in secret. We know, from documents obtained in Europe and the summaries released in April 2009, that the draft ACTA has sections that deal with both injunctions and damages. We don’t have the current text. Continue Reading

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CSC written intervention on future work at WIPO SCCR

Find below Civil Society Coalition (CSC) written intervention to the 18th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. The intervention was submitted in Spanish by Pablo Lecuona, director and co-funder of Tiflolibros, a library for blinds in Argentina, and CSC fellow during the 18th Session of the WIPO SCCR.

Comentarios de la Civil Society Coalition (CSC)

Mi nombre es Pablo Lecuona y soy director y co-fundador de la biblioteca para ciegos, Tiflolibros en Argentina.

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KEI written comments on future work of WIPO’s SCCR 18

Knowledge Ecology International written intervention to the 18th Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) thanks the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) and the Chair, Jukka Liedes, for affording KEI the opportunity to present our written comments on the subject of the future work of this Committee.

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Broken promise by President Obama on parallel trade in pharmaceuticals

As candidates, almost all democrats have promised voters, in several elections, they will support parallel trade in pharmaceuticals from Canada and other high income countries. As elected officials, nothing happens. President Obama already has authority to permit imports of medicines, if he wanted to exercise it. But not only is the White House not fullfillinbg the promise to allow imports, it has promised the CEO of PhRMA and several big companies that they won’t allow parallel trade in the health reform bill.

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