ACTA, or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, is an important and potentially somewhat concerning Agreement currently being negotiated by a number of countries, including NZ, in secret.

ACTA has the potential to significantly effect how we use the Internet, allegedly potentially requiring countries to implement what some would regard as draconian steps to reduce piracy online.

The treaty is being spearheaded by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland and Japan, but also including Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and the European Union.

You can read a recent Blog post by NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews outlining ACTA in brief here.

NZCS's Position

Whilst it is fair to say that NZCS is concerned by the ACTA process, and by what would appear to be being included, New Zealand officials certainly appear to be the voice of common sense in negotiations and NZCS is awaiting detailed information to form a formal view.

One area of concern, however, is the secrecy in the process. The Society has expressed concern directly to the Ministries concerned, who have given assurances that they have also attempted to improve the transparency of process.

Update from MED and MFAT

Officials from the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be providing a special update to NZCS members in Auckland and Wellington.

This will be a summary of progress achieved at the 7th round of negotiations held in Mexico in February, as well as seek any additional input on proposed provisions for enforcement of intellectual property rights in the digital environment (the government is currently seeking public submissions on this aspect of ACTA and it will be one of the topics on the agenda for discussion by delegations at the 8th round.)

We strongly encourage you to attend this briefing and ask questions of the officials presenting.

Registration Details:

There is no charge to attend this briefing, however places are limited and registration is essential.

Further Information

Here is some further information about ACTA:

• Wikipedia
• MED's ACTA Page
• acta.net.nz - a site put together by a consortium raising concerns about ACTA

Note that InternetNZ are also holding a "PublicACTA" event in Wellington on 10th April. Please contact InternetNZ at rsvp@internetnz.net.nz to register for that event.