Cooperation in the Pacific Rim by Jakob Polacsek, World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/48179628441

Cooperation in the Pacific Rim by Jakob Polacsek, World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/48179628441

Digital Trade

The ACTA Document and Obama Transparency

There are many reports about the release this week of an ACTA summary document that was first made available on the USTR website.  These articles suggest that this reflects new support for transparency from the Obama administration.  While it may be true that the administration supports greater transparency, making that […]

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April 9, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

DFAIT Posts ACTA Presentation

The Department of Foreign Affairs has now posted its presentation from earlier this week on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.  I posted commentary on the meeting in five brief postings (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

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April 8, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

Canada’s ACTA Briefing, Part Five: The Fight Over a De Minimis Exception

One of the most interesting points of discussion/disagreement during the ACTA briefing arose from the possibility of including a de minimus exception within the Border Measures chapter. The exception is presumably designed to ensure that tougher border measures does not result in iPod searching border guards.  Canadian officials indicated that […]

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April 6, 2009 2 comments News

Canada’s ACTA Briefing, Part Four: Timeline

Canadian officials were asked whether there was a timeline for completion.  Officials responded that they could not confirm that the treaty would be completed by the end of 2009, noting that negotiations were delayed to start the year by a new incoming administration in the United States.  The next round […]

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April 6, 2009 1 comment News

Canada’s ACTA Briefing, Part Three: The Official Summary Document

Canadian officials confirmed that they favour a more transparent approach to ACTA.  They indicated that there are ongoing discussions among negotiating partners about how to address transparency concerns.  During the meeting, officials released a document that will apparently be made available by all ACTA negotiating partners.  The document – which […]

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April 6, 2009 Comments are Disabled News