Washington, D.C. - Today the Office of the United States Trade Representative released a statement by the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiating partners regarding the recent round of ACTA negotiations in Guadalajara, Mexico:
The 7th round of negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was held in Guadalajara, Mexico, from January 26 to 29, 2010, hosted by Mexico. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the EU Presidency (Spain), and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America (alphabetically ordered).
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Jorge Amigo, Director-General, and Ms. Gilda Gonzalez, Deputy Director General, Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). Participants underlined the importance of ACTA as an agreement which shall provide for an enhanced framework to fight global infringement of intellectual property rights, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy.
The discussions at the meeting were productive and focused on civil enforcement, border enforcement and enforcement of rights in the digital environment. Recalling their shared view of the importance of providing opportunities for meaningful public input, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to intensify their respective efforts to provide such opportunities and collectively enhance transparency.
Participants in the meeting agreed that the next meeting would be hosted by New Zealand in April 2010. Participants also reaffirmed their commitment to continue their work with the aim of concluding the agreement by the end of 2010.
