ACTA and the Coalition of the Willing. On the Possible Content, Merits and Dangers of a ‘Plurilateral’ Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam (IViR)
Mr Stephen Stern, Partner, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Melbourne

Date: Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Time: 6.00 - 7.00 pm (followed by light refreshments)
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Outside the framework of established international institutions such as WIPO and WTO, a controversial new treaty on intellectual property enforcement, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), is in the making. ACTA is being negotiated largely in secret by an ad hoc coalition of developed countries, led by the United States and the EU, and including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan. Not much of this so-called plurilateral treaty’s content is presently known, but it is likely to deal not only with traditional forms of counterfeiting, but also with Internet-based infringement. The treaty’s aim is ostensibly to create norms of IP enforcement, both in civil and criminal law and in the form of border measures, which well exceed the enforcement minima of the TRIPs Agreement. Another goal of the treaty is to enhance international cooperation. This evening seminar will shed some light on the ACTA, both from a perspective of international law and policy, and with a view to possible consequences of ACTA implementation on Australian IP enforcement law and practice.

Published:
16.11.08
Category:
Trade Marks