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ACTA Is Backta, New Round of Talks Start Today

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the forgive-me-rhyming-gods dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement resume today in Lucerne, Switzerland, with the ninth round of talks. The Toronto Star highlights the mounting opposition to the deal from developing world countries such as India and China, while Michael Geist has posted a video of a recent lecture that provides background on the agreement and where things currently stand."

4 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. "ACTA is Backta" by mdm-adph · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Please don't ever do that again.

    --
    It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
  2. Evil From a Democratic Point of View by darkonc · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Negotiating, in secret, a treaty that is likely to result in 'A responsibility' to pass a change in the laws of a country is intrinsically undemocratic and, as such, evil from a point of view of democratic principles.

    Freedom of speech is meaningless if the issues about which one has cause to speak are shrouded in maximal secrecy.

    --
    Sometimes boldness is in fashion. Sometimes only the brave will be bold.
    1. Re:Evil From a Democratic Point of View by Jade_Wayfarer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh, that's easy. They'll just negotiate new meanings of words, like this:
      Freedom - licensed ability to use product, service or feature*.
      Speech - licensed ability to use copyrighted words and symbols of $language_of_choice for intercommunication**.

      * Subscription plans for advanced "freedoms" are available to premium users. Basic "freedom" pack includes a "freedom" to pay for services/products/features and "freedom" to consume advertising.
      ** Basic license grants ability to intercommunicate only with one other person. Mass intercommunication (with 2 or more persons at once) available only to premium users.

      After that you can enjoy your "freedom" of "speech" as much as you wish.***

      ***After exceeding a prepaid limit of enjoyment additional fees will be charged.

      --
      Absence of proof != proof of absence.
  3. ACTA has nothing to do with counterfeiting. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I downloaded the version of ACTA posted previously. Considering the title is the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, I figured it would talk about the illegal production of currency, with a page or two that lobbyists stuck in the middle dealing with copyright infringement. So I did a text search on "money," "coin" and "currency."

    The only results were talking about whether money exchanges hands for illegally copied works.

    In other words, the Anti COUNTERFEITING Trade Agreement has nothing to do with the illegal production of false currency. Nothing whatsoever. The "Counterfeiting" in the title refers to simple copyright infringement. It's trying to equate copyright infringement with one of the most serious crimes a sovereign nation can face.

    If a treaty has to lie right in the title in order not to provoke outrage by the citizens of the countries governed by it, it's a bad treaty. No exceptions.