Then in June, 2008, a set of sample discussion points was leaked. Though not constituting a draft, some of the discussion points were draconian and scary. (Somebody involved in ACTA is apparently interested in letting a little sunshine in, or a little of the darkness out.) Said the Sydney Morning Herald, “It proposes a governing body for copyright protection that would operate outside organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN. In short, it proposes a global police force, answerable to no one, with intrusive powers that vastly exceed those currently available to adherents of the concept of intellectual property.”
The members of ACTA have not sought public input, but they have asked for suggestions and positions from industry. The Recording Institute of America (RIAA) certainly weighed in. They sent in their wish list back in March, 2008.
Some of their wish items were:
- Permit law enforcement authorities, both at the border and internally, to seize clearly infringing copyright and trademark materials and to seize and/or place under seal equipment or materials suspected of being used to produce such infringing copies without the need for a complaint from the right holder, and without regard to whether protected materials have been recorded or otherwise registered with border authorities.
- Provide that goods determined to be infringing are subject to forfeiture and destruction regardless of whether any action for infringement is initiated, whether civil, administrative or criminal and without any compensation of any kind to the defendant, and regardless of whether there has been any finding of liability on the part of any person.
- Compel manufacturers of optical discs in their territory to maintain complete and accurate records to enable right holders and public authorities to trace the person or entity that ordered the infringing discs.
And more in a similar vein.
So there we have secret meetings, secret participants, and a secret agenda that slashes through international borders and is more powerful than individual governments or international law enforcement. Big content is invited to contribute, but the end-users, the consumers of the content that actually pay for what the participants provide, is to be kept in the dark until these new rules, like the Hounds of Hell, are released upon the unsuspecting populace.
It gets better. The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge have sued to force ACTA to open their records and expose their agreements. Since the whole thing may have started with an ambassador and five congressmen, all ultimately civil employees, the EFF’s position seems very reasonable.
Meanwhile, in Congress, we have the good old boys and their big content cronies trying to enact some of what ACTA wants. Called the “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act,” it has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee. According to Ars Technica, one provision of the act gives the Justice Department “authority to pursue civil suits against IP [intellectual property] infringers, awarding any damages won to the patent, copyright, or trademark holders.” In other words, if this act passes, responsibility for prosecuting a case of infringement passes from the RIAA to the federal judiciary. This is being dumped on the American tax payer.
Could the RIAA and MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) possibly be any more pleased?
Update: American tax payers won't be paying for this after all. The name of the bill is now "Pro-IP" and the provision to have the Justice Department represent big content and patent trolls was dropped.
Next: What Consumers Want, Information Wants To Be Free, What A Song is Worth, and Summing It All Up