14 DAY TRIAL // Eight representatives of the world's leading economies signed an agreement
in Tokyo, pledging to join the international fight against piracy.
“Protecting intellectual property is essential to American jobs in innovative and creative industries. The ACTA provides a platform for the Obama Administration to work cooperatively with other governments to advance the fight against counterfeiting and piracy,” revealed U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on the occasion of the signing.
“Today marks a major milestone in the process of putting this Agreement into force.”
Actually, eleven parties took part at the meeting but three of them considered that the timing is not right for signing the agreement. In a joint press release, the European Union, Mexico, and Switzerland showed their support for the initiative, promising to join the coalition “as soon as practicable.”
Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States signed the treaty which provides for “enhanced international cooperation,” “promotion of sound enforcement practices” and “a legal framework for IPR enforcement in the areas of criminal enforcement, enforcement at the border, civil and administrative actions, and distribution of IPR infringing material on the Internet.”
The partnership comes after a recent study that highlighted the fact that between 10 and 20 million American's jobs rely on intellectual property and because of piracy and counterfeiting acts all these people risk loosing them.
The ACTA will include new rules on criminal seizure and destruction of fake goods and it will clarify existing international regulations to protect against bypassing digital security technologies such as passwords.
The partners promise that their law enforcement bodies will act on their own initiative in piracy and counterfeiting cases, also they will have to come up with "remedies against importation or use of labels or packaging for counterfeit goods."
The agreement is clearly to be applauded, all that remains to be seen is how well the allies will manage to put in place and enforce the regulations required by the new collaboration.