ACTA: retreat, euphemisms and alternative
Autor: Glaucia Maria Guimarães Quadros | Publicado: 2010-04-27T09:26:00-07:00


ACTA: retreat, euphemisms and alternative
By Antonio Martins
Published: 21/04/2010Posted in: DestaquesTags: # culturadigitalbr, ACTA, free knowledge, internet, free media, WIPO
www.outraspalavras.net/?p=1098
Finally appeared today (21 / 4), as expected, the first public version of ACTA - the international agreement restricting trade in cultural and scientific than sixteen countries negotiate in secret, since 2007. In recent weeks, pressure from civil society made it impossible to keep the plot under wraps. At a time when hundreds of millions of people accustomed to sharing ideas and intangible goods on the Internet, the agreement provided, in versions that leaked confidential, delete network users to swap music files; prohibit generic drugs, allow police to customs peruse notebooks and phones, searching for files "unauthorized."

Negotiated in secret by governments and large corporations because of the unpopularity of most of its key clauses, ACTA is the English acronym of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Treaty. Behind these words, hides an attempt to curb new forms - non-market - the exchange of cultural products and knowledge. Seeks to recover the situation before the internet, where these exchanges (music, videos or news, for example) required a mandatory intermediary capitalized (a label, a studio, a major newspaper). As such intermediation became technically unnecessary, the agreement seeks to reintroduce it represses, through legal means, to direct traffic. To do so, he resorts to measures that harm the fundamental rights of human beings (read more).

Starting in March, with the appearance of which was prepared in the dark, quickly formed an international coalition of civil society groups against the ACTA. She denounced, first, the absolute lack of transparency in negotiations. The pressures to end the secrecy acenturam to the eve of the 8th round of negotiations on the agreement held between 12 and 16 April in Wellington, New Zealand. Intimidated, the participating countries reported in the final session of the meeting, an official denied that part of previous versions of the agreement - and asked for five more days to end the secrecy.

That is what happened in 21 quarters. The text is 39 pages in English. Unlike previous versions, no longer contains, for each topic of the possible deal, the different positions of various countries. This uniformity must have consumed the last five days. Were also excluded, as expected, the aspects that more attacks on fundamental rights and freedoms. Before the initial vazamanto his intentions, and the strong reaction to them, prosecutors seem to have done the ACTA a strategic retreat. Momentarily part of their goals. Try to get rid of the repudiation of his character hidden joint. And, armed with a proposal rejected unless they seek to put themselves in position to resume the debate.

A few hours later revealed a light version of ACTA, the early reviews have already surfaced, made by the coalition of movements that fight the deal. One is by Nate Anderson and is published on the site Ars Technica. Although brief, the study describes the essential.

The clauses that most shocked the public are less visible, but remain in the form of subterfuge. An example: no longer appear in the text devices such as the bill of Senator Azeredo, which required internet access providers to shut down users accused (by the companies of the cultural industry) of violating intellectual property. They were replaced, but for more obscure terms, which free ISPs ... provided that this obligation whatsoever commitment to "adopt and implement policy to address the storage or unauthorized transmission of copyrighted materials."

Nate Anderson's analysis seems to confirm the impression that emerged in April 16, when the countries negotiating ACTA announced soon publish its proposal. At the time, the French site numbers (also committed to critically examine the secret initiative) suggested that the strategy of the supporters of the agreement is now an environment conducive to legitimize their claims of long-term - and build them step by step. This implies disallow and replace the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UN body in charge of the subject.

Such information can help define a counter-strategy. One possible reason for the attempt to disempower the WIPO is the fact that she tested since 2004, an attempt to review - for the better - the intellectual property laws. Released by Brazil and Argentina, this movement became institutionalized in the form of a "Development Agenda".

In January 2010, for example, in the last series of talks about it, Brazil officially presented a proposal for "exceptions to patent rights and limitations to intellectual property." The basis of the project is to seek a "balance" between the rights of holders of intellectual property and of all the companies.

The "Development Agenda" has been coupled with reasonable regularity, the "WIPO Centre", the Free Culture site, which publishes texts by Pedro Paranaguá. An examination of his conduct could initiate a similar process that began to give, in Brazil, as an alternative to Project Azeredo. In this case, rather than just condemn the threat of ACTA, it started to counterattack - including a proposal for spreading and democratizing effect. The mobilization of civil society, even lead to breakthroughs in the alternative proposal.

The debate on the ACT and responses to it tends to stretch over years and cresecente gain space on the political agenda worldwide. The partial retreat of the promoters of the proposal to win time. The rise in the short term, an international network to defend the free movement of knowledge, culture and communication demonstrates that there is on the horizon, just threats ...