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Full ACTA Leak Online
An anonymous reader writes "Following months of small Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement leaks,
the full
consolidated ACTA text has now been posted online. The consolidated
text provides a clear indication of how the negotiations have altered
earlier proposals (see this post for
links to the early leaks) as well as the first look at several
other ACTA elements. For example, last spring it was revealed
that several countries had proposed including a de minimus provision to
counter fears that the border measures chapter would lead to iPod
searching border guards. The leak shows there are four
proposals on the table."
The only reason to ever draft laws in anything but plain-text is obfuscation. I'm sick of trying to read the actual text of legislation and only finding PDFs of scanned images of typewritten papers. Seriously, who the fuck still uses a typewriter? All legislation should be written in .txt files, and placed in a web-accessible revision control system. That way, it becomes trivial to discover who is responsible for each and every line of treachery.
On page 6, article 2.3 paragraph 2: Where it says materials and implements does that mean if i use a infringing line of code or part to make a product like a Ferrari, then the whole item can possibly be forfeited?
Man, I've traveled in parts of Eastern Europe and the Balkans where the border guards are fucking animals.
The last time I traveled from Sutomore to Sarejevo by car it was less bad, but they still seem to be actively recruiting sociopaths.
You are welcome on my lawn.
It also circumvents current laws that most countries have regarding home copies (either subsidized through taxes levied on blank media) and fair use by stating that all copies (regardless of commercial gain) are 'illegal'.
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
Most concerning to all of us should be, the fact that a separate group of "rights" holders are being defined, and that governments are going to sign away authority and sovereignty to those "rights" holders.
You think you've seen some crazy shit in the past? Just wait until half the nations on earth are subject to the whims of some greedy sumbitch with a blockbuster movie or two to his name.
Understand that a treaty supersedes a nation's sovereignty - in effect, you've signed away the right to abjudicate disagreements according to your own law. Those "rights" holders are attempting to dictate to Moscow, Washington, London, and Beijing, just how "intellectual property" will be handled in the future.
Farewell, Public Domain. From now on, it will all be pubic domain, because those "rights" holders will be sticking it to all of us.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
It is the idea that all border guards will be able to easily discriminate the legality of content
"Article 2.7: Ex-Officio Action" [presenting just the US version here]
"1. Each party shall provide that its customs authorities may act upon their own initiative, to suspend the release of ... suspected pirated copyright goods..."
The content need not be illegal (nor easily discriminated as such), the guard merely needs to posit suspicion.
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance