ACTA text finalised

A final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has now been released. The Agreement is available from the website of the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Agreement is the result of 11 rounds of negotiations between Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America. These negotiations were conducted independent of any international organisation, but ACTA is intended to complement the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

The Agreement recognises that the effective enforcement of intellectual property rights (“IPRs”) is essential to sustaining global economic growth and that the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods undermines legitimate trade and development, and in some cases, provides a source of revenue for organised crime and poses health and safety risks for consumers. The Agreement also recognises that international cooperation is vital to achieve effective protection of IPRs and aims to combat the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods through more effective enforcement of IPRs and international cooperation.

The Agreement is divided into six chapters which deal with the following:

- initial provisions and definitions;

- legal framework for enforcement of IPRs (including general obligations, civil enforcement, border measures, criminal enforcement and enforcement of IPRs in the digital environment);

- enforcement practices;

- international cooperation;

- institutional arrangements; and

- final provisions (such as ratification and amendments).

Following legal verification of the Agreement, it will be submitted to the participant’s respective authorities to undertake the necessary domestic processes required for ratification of the Agreement.

Watch this space for updates on ACTA.

Naomi Hand - November 2010