The Government of New Zealand has posted a short report on last week's ACTA talks, noting the key issues and committing to future negotiations. As usual, the Canadian government remains silent on ACTA.
NZ Government Reports on ACTA Talks
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Canadian gov’t posted identical release
Actually, the Canadian Government posted exactly the *same* release at . In fact, according to the last modification dates (which naturally aren’t conclusive), the Canadian post may have come four days *before* New Zealand’s.
missing link
Oops, the link seems to be lost, there. It’s [ link ]
“Participants agreed to continue consulting with stakeholders through domestic processes”
Apparantly the citizens of Canada are not a stake holder.
Unless of course “consulting” “through a domestic process” means bend over and take what the Americans tell you to.
consultation
Actually, it’s slightly more amusing (if you have the appropriate sense of humour) than that. Industry Canada *conducted* public consultations — they closed on April 30. I wonder who knew about them.
Here’s a relevant excerpt from a web page that I could access on Tuesday, but which doesn’t exist today (fortunately, I took a snapshot).
Closed Consultations
Intellectual Property
The Government of Canada is seeking the views of Canadians on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Closing Date: April 30, 2008
On October 23, 2007, in keeping with the Government of Canada’s commitment to protect intellectual property rights, the Minister of International Trade announced that Canada would participate in preliminary discussions with the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand and other countries on a proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Illicit trade in trademark counterfeit and copyright pirated products can cause negative effects on the national economy by decreasing incentive for creativity and innovation and threatening legitimate businesses. Such activities can also affect the health and safety of Canadian consumers and have been linked to organized crime.
The Government of Canada is committed to improving intellectual property protection domestically. However, trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy have become global scale issues that require international solutions. Canada recognizes the importance of protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights in a global context and has been actively involved in international discussions on this issue, including in the G8, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
* News Release – October 23, 2007
* Fact Sheet on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
All parties interested in submitting comments regarding this initiative are invited to do so by April 30, 2008.
Please send your contributions by email, mail or fax to:
E-mail: consultations@international.gc.ca
Fax: (613) 944-7981
Consultations and Liaison Division (CSL)
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2
correction
There I go, misspeaking again. Of course it was DFAIT, not Industry Canada, that held the consultation.