Further Opportunities

Intellectual Property

Trade and Intellectual Property

October 8-9, 2008 - Meeting in Tokyo, Japan

Discussion on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) continued in Tokyo October 8-9. Participants in the discussion included Australia, Canada, the European Union (represented by the European Commission and the EU Presidency (France)), Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States (alphabetically ordered).

Participants reaffirmed their goal to combat global infringements of intellectual property rights, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy, by increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves.

The October 8-9 meeting was the latest in a series of meetings to discuss proposals concerning different aspects of the proposed agreement. The discussion at this meeting focused on criminal enforcement of IPR. Participants also continued their previous discussions of civil enforcement of IPR. Participants made steady progress in these discussions, and decided to continue their work at another substantive meeting to be held at a mutually convenient time in the near future.

Participants confirmed their intention to continue consulting with their respective stakeholders, and to share the results of the consultations at their next meeting.