Readers might recall a recent post on the potential impact of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement on developing countries. What was missing however, was any official communication from the Indian government on the issue, even after the official text was released.
But as IP Watch reports the growing concerns of the public have been finally echoed in the statement of Ashutosh Jindal, an adviser at the Embassy of India to the EU, who attended a hearing organised by the Green Party Group in Brussels. His statement pertains to the claims of the Office of the United State Trade Representative that ‘ACTA will not interfere with a signatory’s ability to respect its citizens’ fundamental rights and liberties, and will be consistent with the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and will respect the Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health‘ (see the press release here). Jindal’s assessment is that this fact is not reflected in the ACTA text that was recently released. He points to specific provisions to reinforce this point, in particular, the right to search and seize of goods that are merely suspected of being counterfeit, restricted not only to copyright and trademark infringement.
What is perhaps even more worrying is his confirmation that India ‘had not been asked to join’ the ACTA negotiations, which clearly indicates the non-inclusive nature of the negotiations, and supports the assertion that the entire agreement is a deliberate U.S. strategy to keep the developing world out of the talks, while it finalises a pre-negotiated deal for the rest of the world.
On a related note, it seems the Canadian government, one of the most vocal adversaries of the United States at the negotiations and opposed to the anti-circumvention provisions and its demand for fair dealing flexibilities has evidently dropped its opposition by deciding to introduce DMCA-styled provisions in its domestic legislation, in the wake of mounting pressure from U.S. officials, which is sure to have a corresponding effect on their position at the ACTA negotiations. This is indeed a disturbing development and one that shows the success of the American strategy in concluding a deal that is best suited to its own interests through clever diplomatic manoeuvring. Should India and the rest of the developing world be worried? I think so.
