Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

August 24, 2009 | Intellectual Property, Treaty

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed multiilateral trade agreement that is claimed by its proponents to be in response “to the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works”. The scope of ACTA is broad, including counterfeit physical goods, as well as “internet distribution and information technology”. In October 2007 the United States, the European Community, Switzerland and Japan announced that they would negotiate ACTA. Furthermore the following countries have joined the negotiations: Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Canada. The ACTA negotiations have been largely conducted in secrecy, with very little information being officially disclosed.