Rich countries unveil anti-piracy war plans

BRUSSELS: Major industrialised countries announced plans last Tuesday for a new anti-counterfeiting pact as they seek to clamp down on money-spinning piracy in global trade.
The European Union, the US States and Japan all announced separately that they wanted to negotiate an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA).
They indicated that Canada, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and Switzerland were also on board.
“There has been communication between the EU and its partners and an expression of interest between various nations. We are all basically pulling on the same rope here,” European commission spokesman Michael Jennings said.
The EU’s trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said a new international anti-counterfeiting treaty “will strengthen global cooperation and establish new international norms, helping to create a new global gold standard on intellectual property rights”.
“Today launches our joint efforts to confront counterfeiters and pirates across the global marketplace,” US trade representative Susan Schwab said.
And in Japan, a foreign ministry official said current World Trade Organisation rules were insufficient to control the piracy.
“But the regulations are not catching up with the current situation in which the trade in counterfeit goods is proliferating across the world through new means, for example, the internet,” the official said.
US officials said the planned agreement would not involve any changes to multilateral trade agreements under the WTO, but would seek to step up enforcement efforts against counterfeit and pirated goods.
Japan said a first round of talks would be held in Geneva this year with other concerned countries. – AFP