Next week, the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade will vote on its draft legal opinion on ACTA. The legal opinion states that the “Commission has ensured that ACTA provisions comply with the Union acquis and that nothing in ACTA contradicts the obligations between parties under existing agreements, including the TRIPS Agreement;” and that “ACTA will not serve as a basis to interfere with access to medicine and, in particular with trade in generic medicines.” It recommends that Parliament give its consent to the agreement.
The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure wrote a letter to the Committee warning that “many known issues are not reflected in the draft. The draft is a serious threat to the credibility of the Institution and the Union.”
Médecins Sans Frontières warned in a statement that the report “is flawed and should not be accepted in its current form,” and pointed out three outstanding problems – it is not restricted to trademark counterfieting; it’s civil enforcement provisions extend to all IP rights, including patents; and third parties such as API producers, distributors, and nonprofits providing healthcare are threatened with liability.
