Consumer groups blast Obama's secret trade talks

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Consumer groups blast Obama's secret trade talks
Sam Gustin
Nov 10th 2009 at 10:30AM


Consumers groups have accused President Barack Obama of favoring a global trade agreement -- currently being negotiated in secret on national security grounds -- that would include harsh provisions similar to France's "three strikes" law, which cuts off internet access for repeated digital piracy. In a letter sent to Congress, the consumer groups expanded on previous concerns expressed by civil libertarians over the secrecy of the treaty -- the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) -- and lambasted the substance of the agreement.

Not surprisingly, Rupert Murdoch, the powerful media mogul, expressed support for a three-strikes-like regime. "There's a lot of movement to get that put in America and become a world standard," Murdoch told Sky News, "because in the music industry today, it's very, very hard for young talent to get started and established."

The consumer groups, Knowledge Ecology International and Public Knowledge, told congressional leaders that the proposed agreement "implicates changes to international intellectual property norms far broader than its name suggests," incorporating elements of the World Trade Organization's Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreements.

"Rather than taking as their starting point the entire TRIPS agreement, it would seem that the ACTA negotiators have identified certain parts of the TRIPS agreement most favorable to particular groups of intellectual property holders, including certain publishers, media conglomerates, and pharmaceutical companies," the groups wrote. "Left out of the ACTA text are the elements most favorable to consumers, including those intended to curb anticompetitive practices, and to protect innovation."

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http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/10/consumer-groups-decry-secret-global-trade-treaty-as-obamas-gift/?icid=main

[midnight armadillo]

1. Was it ever easy for young talent to get established in music?

How would a three strikes law fix that, exactly? Oh, that's right, it wouldn't since 3 strikes is about protecting the profits of giant corporations.