Legal Journals

ICC Members Push for Multilateral IP Agreement

By mhutchins

Members of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) Committee have asked US Trade Representative Susan Schwab to speed the development of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). CEOs of member companies gathered on March 3 to unveil recommendations for the ACTA and a set of in-country strategies aimed at fighting counterfeiting in Russia, China, the United States, the UK, Canada and Germany. BASCAP also announced a consumer education campaign which will inform the public of the damage caused by trade in counterfeit goods. The group also agreed to work with the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The ACTA is currently being developed by the US, Canada, the EU, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Switzerland. ICC Secretary General Guy Sebban hopes that ACTA will become the new “gold standard” in IP enforcement. The meeting of BASCAP included top executives from GE, Microsoft, Pfizer, Unilever and other corporations. The ICC announcement is available here.

Full post as published by Harvard International Law Journal Digest on March 08, 2008 (boomark / email).