US Plots "Pirate Bay Killer" Trade Agreement .. Wikileaks..

An anonymous reader sends word that Wikileaks has revealed that the United States is plotting a 'Pirate Bay killing' multi-lateral trade agreement, called 'ACTA,' with the EU, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland and New Zealand.
"The proposal includes clauses designed to criminalize the non-profit facilitation of copyrighted information exchange on the Internet, which would also affect transparency sites such as Wikileaks. The Wikileaks document details provisions that would impose strict enforcement of intellectual property rights related to Internet activity and trade in information-based goods. If adopted, the treaty would impose a strong, top-down enforcement regime imposing new cooperation requirements upon Internet service providers, including perfunctory disclosure of customer information, as well as measures restricting the use of online privacy tools."

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/23/1251202&from=rss

WE NEED HEARINGS ON THIS!!!!!!!!!!

That's some heavy-handed stuff.

STOP THIS NOW!!!!!!!

“The leaked document has been circulating around for some time and it is not clear who is the original source (ie. government or trade group). Regardless, it reinforces the concerns that the ACTA is being negotiated behind closed doors with absolutely no transparency.

“The Canadian government’s participation demonstrates again that Industry Minister Jim Prentice is not a leader on IP - he takes orders rather than gives them.”

CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) had a, “great ACTA submission to DFAIT and IP Justice maintains an excellent collection of links as well,” he notes.

‘Handful of the wealthiest countries …’

The proposed US ACTA multi-lateral intellectual property trade agreement (2007), with the notorious Hollywood Howard Berman (right) up front, is hosted by Wikileaks, which states >>>

In 2007 a select handful of the wealthiest countries began a treaty-making process to create a new global standard for intellectual property rights enforcement, the “Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement”. The agreement does not cover currency fraud.


ACTA is spearheaded by the United States, the European Commission, Japan, and Switzerland - those countries with the largest intellectual property industries. Other countries invited to participate in ACTA’s negotiation process are Canada, Australia, Korea, Mexico and New Zealand. Noticeably absent from ACTA’s negotiations are leaders from developing countries who hold national policy priorities that differ from the international intellectual property industry.


A “Discussion Paper on a Possible Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” was reportedly provided to select lobbyists in the intellectual property industry, but not to public interest organizations concerned with the subject matter of the proposed treaty.<1>


Wikileaks has obtained the document.


The agreement covers the copying of information or ideas in a wide variety of contexts. For example page three, paragraph one is a “Pirate Bay killer” clause designed to criminalize the non-profit facilitation of unauthorized information exchange on the internet, which would also negatively affect transparency sites such as Wikileaks.


The document reveals a proposal for a multi-lateral trade agreement of strict enforcement of intellectual property rights related to Internet activity and trade in information-based goods. If adopted, a treaty of this form would impose a strong, top-down enforcement regime, with new cooperation requirements upon internet service providers, including perfunctionary disclosure of customer information and a ban on anti-circumvention measures.


The proposal also specifies a plan to encourage developing nations to accept the legal regime.


The source states that trade representatives intend to formalize the agreement at the G-8 summit in July 2008.


The following summary of the trade agreement issue is from IP Justice, an international group directed from San Francisco group that fights for a just world intellectual property regime:


After the multi-lateral treaty’s scope and priorities are negotiated by the few countries invited to participate in the early discussions, ACTA’s text will be “locked” and other countries who are later “invited” to sign-on to the pact will not be able to re-negotiate its terms. It is claimed that signing-on to the trade agreement will be “voluntary”, but few countries will have the muscle to refuse an “invitation” to join, once the rules have been set by the select few conducting the negotiations.


The US is negotiating ACTA through the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), an office within the Bush Administration that has concluded more than 10 “free trade” agreements in recent years, all of which require both the US and the other country to increase intellectual property rights enforcement measures beyond the international legal norms in the WTO-TRIPS Agreement. <2>


Talking points from the European Commission, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and others have published selected passages ostensibly from the document in response; refer to <3> for useful links.


The ACTA push appears to have been launched on October 23, 2007 by US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab. A copy of her opening remarks follow:


Remarks by U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab


Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)


October 23, 2007


Thank you all for being here. Today we are announcing a major new initiative in the international fight against IPR counterfeiting and piracy.


I want to begin by thanking our host today, the Congressional Caucus on Intellectual Property and Piracy Prevention, and its co-chairs - Representatives Bono, Feeney, Wexler, and Adam Smith of Washington.


Thank you also to the Members present, who have done so much to advance the cause of IP protection, including:


Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)


I also want to acknowledge and thank the Ambassadors and representatives of our trading partners who have joined us today.


<…>


We are pleased to be working in this broader effort with a number of key trading partners, large and small, including Canada, the European Union,


Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and Switzerland. We hope and believe that others will join over time, marking an emerging consensus on stronger IP enforcement. All who share our ambition and commitment to stronger IPR enforcement are welcome.


<…>


With that goal in mind, the U.S. Government is eager to move ahead as fast as possible with the negotiation of this important new agreement.


Thank you.


Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)<4>


Top four campaign contributions for 2006:
Time Warner $21,000
News Corp $15,000
Sony Corp of America $14,000
Walt Disney Co $13,550


Top two Industries:
TV/Movies/Music $181,050
Lawyers/Law Firms $114,200


Other politicians listed, “show a similar contribution spectrum,” observes Wikileaks dryly.

In August, 2007, “The entertainment industries have been leading contributors to Berman since 1993, topping up his coffers with amounts totalling close to $1,000,000,” p2pnet posted.

Stay tuned.

http://www.p2pnet.net/story/16026

Members who are supporting the agreement.

Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)