back to article ACTA restricts developing economies, India tells WTO

A secret trade agreement designed to harmonise some countries' intellectual property laws could destabilise existing international agreements and harm the economic prospects of developing countries, India has said. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a secret IP treaty being negotiated by the US, Japan, the …

COMMENTS

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  1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

    Thank you India

    I hop you win on this.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    which country was it that tried to stop...

    ... Microsoft from making their Office Documents formats as a standard, for a good reason, but failed?

    something tells me that this argument will fail as well! The people supporting the ACTA have far more money (and powerful friends) then those who are arguing against it.

    it is sad, but the time foretold, where the corporate entities have more power over the people then the people have over themselves, is already here.

  3. Steen Hive
    Stop

    How long will it take

    For people to realise that "Secret Agreements", administrative punishment and the like are ham-fisted, corrupt attempts to dismantle the rule of law - and make far more of a mockery of the rule of law than IP infringement?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    and

    And India are likely right, the main purpose of ACTA I would guess is to make sure poor countries stay poor loyal lapdogs, surts, and sweatshops, to the companies and governments of the West. Backed by the power of the US navy to seize anything their masters like wherever it is.

  5. TeeCee Gold badge
    FAIL

    They just couldn't resist it, could they?

    "....as well as access to critical climate change technologies."

    Presumably ACTA will also have a detrimental effect on the price of grilled octopus. They deserve a prize for most blatant shoehorning of nice, trendy Climate Change into a completely unrelated topic for this.

    Shame really, that bit of topic-du-jour puffery detracted from what was otherwise a coherent and well-thought argument for me.

  6. gratou
    Alert

    tip of the iceberg?

    How many secret such deals trying to overrule people representatives are there?

    The last I have heard was the infamous and thankfully failed (as far as I know) MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT ON INVESTMENT where investors' (read multinationals) funds were protected and above a country's laws.

    Or the NAFTA tribunal.

    And now this? How many other unknown ones?

    Plutocracy by stealth is in its way if we don't pay attention.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      My suggestion

      Wrap a piece of aluminum foil around your head - two or three times should do.

      Also, if people look at you a bit funny, that probably means they're part of the International Conspiracy - so write it down in a little book.

      That is all.

  7. raving angry loony

    ACTA is evil

    The US "content" industry grew big by copying other peoples ideas. Disney, Fox, etc., all plagiarized the crap out of whatever they could lay their hands on, and it worked out for everyone. Then, once they got big, they started trying to stiffle others from doing the same. Disney leading the way with successful lobbying to keep increasing the time a work is covered in order to protect their lucrative rerun market.

    ACTA is simply another step in the goal of these American giants remaining the biggest "content industry" while not actually having to create anything new, but instead resting on their laurels. Laurels the copied from others when the laws were more friendly to creators, not accountants.

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