In 2006, the United States and several key trading partners launched negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a new plurilateral treaty to help fight counterfeiting and piracy through enhanced international cooperation and more effective international standards for enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights.

Recently, the Administration successfully concluded the ACTA negotiations and published the finalized text. According the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC):

• ACTA was developed by countries representing more than 50% of world trade and is a significant step forward in international cooperation.It will strengthen enforcement of intellectual property rights by providing a global framework for effectively combating global proliferation of commercial-scale counterfeiting and piracy.
• ACTA will be the first agreement of its kind to not only require strong laws on the books, but to also promote key practices that make those laws effective in practice. For example, ACTA will call on parties to encourage cooperative efforts within the business community to combat infringement.
• ACTA requires, among other things, that signatories establish effective intellectual property enforcement legal frameworks, including obligations to:
  • establish criminal procedures and penalties for willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy, or importation or use, on a commercial scale, and aiding and abetting criminal conduct, and authorizes criminalizing camcording;
  • establish laws that impose imprisonment and destruction as penalties for criminal violations of enforcement laws;
  • establish civil enforcement laws that enhance the tools available to rightholders to crack down on counterfeiting and piracy, including by providing for meaningful damages for rightholders, the destruction of counterfeit goods and also including appropriate safeguards against abuse and to protect privacy as appropriate; 
  • ensure that civil and criminal enforcement laws are equally applicable to copyright infringement occurring online; and
  • establish anti-circumvention laws to protect the use of technological protection measures (digital locks).

The GIPC commends the administration’s efforts to conclude an ambitious and comprehensive ACTA that results in more effective enforcement of IP rights.  However, in order for ACTA to truly be effective, it will be necessary to ensure that countries implement the provisions of the agreement. Under the final agreement, many important provisions were left optional. Therefore, USTR should encourage signatories to go beyond the minimum requirements, consistent with U.S. law. Furthermore, the GIPC urges USTR to continue to explore ways to secure the most effective IP provisions in future agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

RESOURCES:

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s submission to February 2011 USTR Federal Register Notice
• USTR’s ACTA website
• ACTA Finalized Text
• ACTA - Summary of Key Elements Under Discussion (USTR)
• ACTA Fact Sheet (USTR, March 2010)
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Letter to USTR Regarding ACTA
• Letter from 108 businesses and associations to Ambassador Kirk urging for a speedy conclusion of ACTA
• Letter from interested trade associations to Ambassador Kirk commending the administration's decision to resume ACTA negotiations
• ICC Report: "Building a Digital Economy: The Importance of Saving Jobs in the EU’s Creative Industries"