The fifth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was held in Rabat on July 16 and 17, 2009, hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.

The meeting was opened by Ahmed Reda Chami, Minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies, and other Moroccan government officials. Minister Chami emphasized the importance of ACTA as an agreement that will provide an enhanced framework to fight counterfeiting and piracy. He reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to make intellectual property a main priority of economic, cultural and technological development.

The objective of the ACTA negotiations is to craft a new, state-of-the art agreement to combat counterfeiting and piracy. The United States has been working with several trading partners, including Australia, Canada, the European Union and its 27 member states, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland, to negotiate the agreement.

On April 6, 2009, the U.S. Trade Representative released a detailed summary of the current state of the ACTA negotiations. The summary, which all of the ACTA negotiating partners drafted, set out the specific topics to be discussed in the negotiations.

Discussions focused on international cooperation, enforcement practices and institutional issues. Participants also continued discussions on transparency matters, including providing information to stakeholders and the interested public.

Participants in this meeting agreed that the next round will be hosted by the Republic of Korea in November 2009. With regard to the progress of negotiations, participants confirmed their intention to conclude the agreement as soon as possible in 2010.

United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk has announced that the United States is moving forward on the negotiation of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) (PDF) to step up the fight against global counterfeiting and piracy.

The objective of the ACTA negotiations, which began in June 2008, is to create a new, state-of-the art agreement to combat counterfeiting and piracy. The United States has been working with several trading partners, including Australia, Canada, the European Union and its 27 member states, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland, to negotiate the agreement. When it is finalized, the ACTA is intended to assist in the efforts of governments around the world to combat the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods.

“The ACTA negotiations provide an opportunity to toughen international standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights, making it harder for counterfeit and pirated products to enter our country, and making the world safer for the innovation and creativity that are so critical to the U.S. economy,” said Kirk. “As we proceed with these negotiations, we will ensure that the public is kept well informed and has further opportunities to give input.”

The participants in the ACTA negotiations will next meet in Morocco in July to continue their discussions, with a view to reaching an agreement in 2010.

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U.S. Trade Representative Office Releases Summary of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Negotiations

On April 6, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a detailed summary of the current state of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations (PDF). The summary, which all of the ACTA negotiating partners drafted, sets out the specific topics under discussion in the negotiations. The summary is being shared with stakeholders for review and comment.

The objective of the ACTA negotiations is to negotiate a new, state-of-the art agreement to combat counterfeiting and piracy. The United States has been working with several trading partners, including Australia, Canada, the European Union and its 27 member states, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and Switzerland, to negotiate the agreement. When finalized, the ACTA is expected to assist in the efforts of governments around the world to more effectively combat the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods.

Those with questions or comments regarding the summary or status of negotiations can contact Kira Alvarez, Chief Negotiator and Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property Enforcement, at (202) 395-4510.

Discussion on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) continued in Paris from December 15 - 17. Participants in the discussion included Australia, Canada, the EU (represented by the European Commission and the EU Presidency (France)), Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States.  EU member states also attended the meeting.

“Participants reaffirmed their commitments to negotiate an agreement to combat global infringements of IPR, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves,” said U.S. Trade Representative spokesman Scott Elmore in a statement released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

“The discussion focused on international cooperation, enforcement practices and institutional issues. Participants also continued previous discussions on criminal enforcement of IPR. They also shared information on approaches to fighting IPR infringements on the Internet. Participants made steady progress in these discussions,” he continued. “Participants shared the results of consultations that had been held with their respective stakeholders and noted the interests expressed by stakeholders in receiving more information. Participants agreed on the importance of transparency and on holding further discussions on sharing additional information with the public.”

The schedule of future negotiations was discussed, with tentative plans to meet again in Morocco in March 2009.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released a document containing the public comments from the September 22 meeting on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

The meeting was held with the objective of strengthening international cooperation, enforcement practices, and participants’ legal frameworks to address counterfeiting and piracy. The purposes of the meeting were to inform stakeholders about ACTA and to receive comments from them about the initiative.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), together with key trading partners, is negotiating an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with the objective of strengthening international cooperation, enforcement practices, and participants’ legal frameworks to address counterfeiting and piracy. As part of this effort,  USTR, together with the U.S. Department of Commerce, is organizing a public meeting on the initiative. The purposes of the meeting will be to inform stakeholders about ACTA and to receive comments from stakeholders about their views regarding this initiative. For further details, see the notice published in the Federal Register.

The meeting will be held on Monday, September 22, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

For further information, contact: Rachel S. Bae, Director for Intellectual Property and Innovation, Office of the United States Trade Representative; Phone: (202) 395-4510.

Discussion of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) continued in Washington, D.C., July 29–31. Participants, including Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States, welcomed the statement in the July 2008 G8 Toyako Summit Declaration that G8 Members support “the acceleration of negotiations to establish a new international legal framework, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and seek to complete the negotiation by the end of the year.”

The participants reaffirmed their goal to combat global infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR), particularly counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework for effective enforcement, and putting in place relevant IPR enforcement measures.

They continued previous discussions on border enforcement of IPR and agreed to continue their work at another substantive meeting to be held at a mutually convenient time in the near future. They also agreed to continue consulting with stakeholders through domestic processes, to share the results of these consultations at their next meeting, and to continue exploring opportunities for stakeholder consultations in connection with future ACTA meetings.

ACTA’s goal is to provide a high-level international framework that strengthens the global enforcement of IPR and helps in the fight to protect consumers from the health and safety risks associated with many counterfeit products.