ACTA signed [Archive] - Echoing the Sound

YKWYA

01-27-2012, 08:38 AM

There really is no substitute to reading what it actually says, which needless to say, is all encompassing. I pulled out some relevant parts. Article 27 is actually pretty scary when read with the Criminal powers this wants signatories to provide for.

ARTICLE 2: NATURE AND SCOPE OF OBLIGATIONS
1. Each Party shall give effect to the provisions of this Agreement. A Party may
implement in its law more extensive enforcement of intellectual property rights than is
required by this Agreement, provided that such enforcement does not contravene the
provisions of this Agreement. Each Party shall be free to determine the appropriate
method of implementing the provisions of this Agreement within its own legal system
and practice.

5(k) pirated copyright goods means any goods which are copies made
without the consent of the right holder or person duly authorized by the
right holder in the country of production and which are made directly or
indirectly from an article where the making of that copy would have
constituted an infringement of a copyright or a related right under the law
of the country in which the procedures set forth in Chapter II (Legal
Framework for Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights) are invoked;

ARTICLE 11: INFORMATION RELATED TO INFRINGEMENT
Without prejudice to its law governing privilege, the protection of
confidentiality of information sources, or the processing of personal data, each Party
shall provide that, in civil judicial proceedings concerning the enforcement of
intellectual property rights, its judicial authorities have the authority, upon a justified
request of the right holder, to order the infringer or, in the alternative, the alleged
infringer, to provide to the right holder or to the judicial authorities, at least for the
purpose of collecting evidence, relevant information as provided for in its applicable
laws and regulations that the infringer or alleged infringer possesses or controls. Such
information may include information regarding any person involved in any aspect of the
infringement or alleged infringement and regarding the means of production or the
channels of distribution of the infringing or allegedly infringing goods or services,
including the identification of third persons alleged to be involved in the production and
distribution of such goods or services and of their channels of distribution.

ARTICLE 12: PROVISIONAL MEASURES

1. Each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities have the authority to order E-8
prompt and effective provisional measures:

(a) against a party or, where appropriate, a third party over whom the
relevant judicial authority exercises jurisdiction, to prevent an
infringement of any intellectual property right from occurring, and in
particular, to prevent goods that involve the infringement of an
intellectual property right from entering into the channels of commerce;

(b) to preserve relevant evidence in regard to the alleged infringement

ARTICLE 23: CRIMINAL OFFENCES

1. Each Party shall provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied at
least in cases of wilful trademark counterfeiting or copyright or related rights piracy on
a commercial scale.

9 Each Party shall treat wilful importation or exportation of counterfeit trademark goods or pirated
copyright goods on a commercial scale as unlawful activities subject to criminal penalties under this
Article. A Party may comply with its obligation relating to importation and exportation of counterfeit
trademark goods or pirated copyright goods by providing for distribution, sale or offer for sale of such
goods on a commercial scale as unlawful activities subject to criminal penalties.

10 A Party may comply with its obligation relating to importation of labels or packaging through its
measures concerning distribution.

11 A Party may comply with its obligations under this paragraph by providing for criminal procedures
and penalties to be applied to attempts to commit a trademark offence. E-13

(a) to which a mark has been applied without authorization which is identical
to, or cannot be distinguished from, a trademark registered in its territory;
and

(b) which are intended to be used in the course of trade on goods or in
relation to services which are identical to goods or services for which
such trademark is registered.

3. A Party may provide criminal procedures and penalties in appropriate cases for
the unauthorized copying of cinematographic works from a performance in a motion
picture exhibition facility generally open to the public.

4. With respect to the offences specified in this Article for which a Party provides
criminal procedures and penalties, that Party shall ensure that criminal liability for
aiding and abetting is available under its law.

This Article is quite scary if you think of how you use the internet now, and how many of your music/video files you download or swap between devices or share with friends.

ARTICLE 27: ENFORCEMENT IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

4. A Party may provide, in accordance with its laws and regulations, its competent
authorities with the authority to order an online service provider to disclose
expeditiously to a right holder information sufficient to identify a subscriber whose
account was allegedly used for infringement, where that right holder has filed a legally
sufficient claim of trademark or copyright or related rights infringement, and where
such information is being sought for the purpose of protecting or enforcing those rights.
These procedures shall be implemented in a manner that avoids the creation of barriers
to legitimate activity, including electronic commerce, and, consistent with that Party’s
law, preserves fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and
privacy.

5. Each Party shall provide adequate legal protection and effective legal remedies
against the circumvention of effective technological measures that are used by authors,
performers or producers of phonograms in connection with the exercise of their rights in
and that restrict acts in respect of, their works, performances, and phonograms, which
are not authorized by the authors, the performers or the producers of phonograms
concerned or permitted by law.

6. In order to provide the adequate legal protection and effective legal remedies
referred to in paragraph 5, each Party shall provide protection at least against:

(a) to the extent provided by its law:

(i) the unauthorized circumvention of an effective technological
measure carried out knowingly or with reasonable grounds to
know; and

(ii) the offering to the public by marketing of a device or product,
including computer programs, or a service, as a means of
circumventing an effective technological measure; and

(b) the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a device or product,
including computer programs, or provision of a service that:

(i) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of
circumventing an effective technological measure; or

(ii) has only a limited commercially significant purpose other than
circumventing an effective technological measure.

7. To protect electronic rights management information,

16 each Party shall provide
adequate legal protection and effective legal remedies against any person knowingly
performing without authority any of the following acts knowing, or with respect to civil
remedies, having reasonable grounds to know, that it will induce, enable, facilitate, or
conceal an infringement of any copyright or related rights:

(a) to remove or alter any electronic rights management information;

(b) to distribute, import for distribution, broadcast, communicate, or make
available to the public copies of works, performances, or phonograms,
knowing that electronic rights management information has been
removed or altered without authority

ARTICLE 31: PUBLIC AWARENESS
Each Party shall, as appropriate, promote the adoption of measures to enhance
public awareness of the importance of respecting intellectual property rights and the
detrimental effects of intellectual property rights infringement

Although:

ARTICLE 41: WITHDRAWAL
A Party may withdraw from this Agreement by means of a written notification
to the Depositary. The withdrawal shall take effect 180 days after the Depositary
receives the notification.

A lot of the other stuff is in regards to physical counterfeiting, but you can read it here http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/i_property/pdfs/acta1105_en.pdf