The 37 party negotiations, including Australia, Canada, the European Union (representing 27 member states), the United States and Japan, reached a positive conclusion, and the final legal review will be conducted in Australia in December.
The countries involved in the Agreement were pleased at its completion, and little change will be necessary to put the Agreement into action. Australia’s Minister for Trade Dr Craig Emerson said: “Australia would not be required to change existing domestic laws in order to implement the ACTA.”
The Agreement focuses on commercially oriented counterfeiting and IP piracy, and is designed to assist international cooperation in combating and enforcing the rights of IP owners in both physical and digital environments. Discussions started in 2003, with many different aspects needing to be agreed on and discussed at each set of discussions.
The finalized version of the Agreement was completed earlier in November, and can be viewed online here.
There has been a great deal of concern expressed by individuals and groups regarding the secretive nature of the negotiations, as well as the possible impact on individual freedoms or existing rights under current copyright, patent, and trademark legislation.
This concern was demonstrated in a number of votes and resolutions passed through the European Parliament earlier this year. The final agreement has recently however been backed by the European politicians.