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 Seoul, Korea.
The 6th round of negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was held in Seoul on November 4 - 6, 2009, hosted by the Republic of Korea. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the EU Presidency (Sweden), and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Gheewhan Kim, Director-General, and Ms. Miyon Lee, Director, Multilateral Trade Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 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 enforcement of rights in the digital environment and criminal enforcement. Participants also discussed the importance of transparency including the availability of opportunities for stakeholders and the public in general to provide meaningful input into the negotiating process.
Participants in the meeting agreed that the next meeting would be hosted by Mexico in January 2010. Participants also reaffirmed their commitment to continue their work with the aim of concluding the agreement as soon as possible in 2010.
