SLA joined several other organizations in sending a detailed redline edit of the draft Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on 14 June. The ninth round of ACTA talks is scheduled for Lucerne, Switzerland from 28 June to 1 July, and the agenda focuses on many issues, including the Internet. The signatories hope that the redline edit of the draft ACTA will result in significantly reducing the number of Internet-related provisions in the agreement. There is concern that the Internet provisions would allow for strong penalties found in U.S. copyright law while not including the exceptions. This could result in countries imposing civil liability on U.S. companies for user activities, or activities permitted under U.S. law.
The USTR released draft text of ACTA on 21 April after two years of pressure from information technology companies, library associations, and consumer advocacy groups. On 23 April, several organizations, including SLA, submitted a letter titled “Concerns With April 2010 ACTA Text” in response.
Read Red Line Edit: Proposed Changes to April 20 Draft of Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement
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