[Foundation-l] ACTA analysis?

[Stephen LaPorte]

Hello Kim,

Geoff asked me to prepare the following summaries of ACTA and OPEN with
the understanding that it only represents some preliminary research to
support the ongoing community discussion. You can find the research here:

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal/ACTA
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal/OPEN_Act

I encourage the community to update or correct these pages as they see fit.
In my personal opinion, the Wikipedia articles are not completely up to
date on ACTA (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement), so the
community may also wish to improve those articles as we learn new
information.

ACTA is complicated because it is a treaty, not national law. It may or may
not be implemented the same way in every country, and its impact will
depend on a country's existing national law. My initial research was
primarily focused on U.S. law, but many of the problems in ACTA will apply
elsewhere. In the spirit of collaboration, your input and improvement is
encouraged!

Here are some highlights:
* ACTA is already signed by many countries, but a country can withdraw with
180 days notice.
* The anti-circumvention provisions are similar to the DMCA, but possibly
worse.
* The final text of ACTA is not as bad as the previous drafts.

Importantly, my research does not represent an official legal opinion from
the Wikimedia Foundation. It may contain errors and may be incomplete. You
should know that the legal department can only represent the Wikimedia
Foundation on legal matters, so this is not official legal advice to the
community.

Stephen LaPorte
Legal Intern
Office of the General Council
Wikimedia Foundation