Issa tells us about secretive ACTA “Treaty”

March 7, 2012 — bunkerville 
 
 

With all that is bearing down on us, it is hard to keep up with the usurping of our freedoms. This one merits getting to the head of the line. While it appears we beat back SOPA for a time, this one is even more troublesome. So here we go, and let all of us bloggers move it up to priority one status. We must keep the internet open and free if we are to have any chance at reversing this course we are on. Time to take a hard look at this “Act”.  Here we go, and thank you Mr. Issa once again.:

 Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) today opened the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the American people and all stakeholders who were excluded during the development of the intellectual property (IP) enforcement agreement. 

Worse Than SOPA & PIPA, ACTA Excluded Both American People and Congress

Worse, ACTA appears to be an unconstitutional power grab begun by the Executive Branch to bypass Congress’ Constitutional authority over international commerce and intellectual property rights protections

Core problems with ACTA include:

  • No Transparency: ACTA is a multilateral intellectual property agreement that was negotiated in secret, excluding American taxpayers and key stakeholders who would be impacted by it.  Despite the fact that ACTA has huge implications for the public, until now few steps have been taken to give the public input into this process.
  • Circumvents Congress & the Constitution: While ACTA carries several provisions that directly affect U.S. trade and intellectual property law, the Bush and Obama Administrations appear to have violated Congress’ constitutional authority over policymaking in these areas.  Adding insult to constitutional injury, the Administration refuses to even classify ACTA as a treaty, which would then require ratification by the U.S. Senate.  Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) raised these troubling issues in an October 12, 2011 letter to President Obama.
  • Vague & Far-Reaching: Like its domestic counterparts SOPA and PIPA, much of ACTA is vague, with consequences for individuals and stakeholders that could reach far beyond the agreement’s original intent. ACTA also contains no safeguards against wrongful cases of intellectual property rights infringement. Full Story at The Right Planet
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