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U.S. offers peek at proposed copyright treaty

After months of secrecy that has rankled public interest groups, the Obama administration is revealing limited information regarding a multilateral anti-counterfeiting treaty currently under negotiation.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday released a summary (PDF) of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a treaty for which negotiations began in 2006 with the aim of setting standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights.

"We look forward to taking more steps to engage with the public in our efforts to make trade work for American families, " U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement that … Read more

Copyright treaty is classified for 'national security'

Last September, the Bush administration defended the unusual secrecy over an anti-counterfeiting treaty being negotiated by the U.S. government, which some liberal groups worry could criminalize some peer-to-peer file sharing that infringes copyrights.

Now President Obama's White House has tightened the cloak of government secrecy still further, saying in a letter this week that a discussion draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and related materials are "classified in the interest of national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958."

The 1995 Executive Order 12958 allows material to be classified only if disclosure would do "damage to … Read more

Pro-IP senators concerned anti-counterfeiting treaty may be too broad

Two senators known for their support of stringent intellectual property enforcement expressed concern on Thursday that an anti-counterfeiting treaty currently being drafted may be too far-reaching.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) sent a letter on Thursday to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab saying that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement currently under negotiation "could limit Congress's ability to make appropriate refinements to intellectual property law in the future."

The speed of the negotiations and their lack of transparency compound the risk that the treaty will unnecessarily constrain Congress, the letter says.

Leahy and Specter authored … Read more

Bush administration defends secrecy over anti-counterfeiting treaty

WASHINGTON--An anti-counterfeiting treaty being negotiated by the U.S. government has come under criticism from liberal groups for being negotiated "in secret" and for potentially criminalizing peer-to-peer file sharing.

On Monday, the Bush administration responded by holding a public event designed to allay fears about the so-called Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a multilateral deal that the federal government hopes to have finished by the end of the year.

A draft of the agreement has not been released publicly, said Stanford McCoy, assistant U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for intellectual property and innovation, because none exists yet. The United States … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 811: I invented that

Whether it's the BlackBerry, the Internet, CNET TV, or hilarious jokes about the Large Hadron Collider, it's a good bet that someone either on or in today's show invented it. Probably Molly. Also in the news today, Nintendo is super rich, the first Android phone is getting a Steve-note (sans Steve) on September 23, and some celebrity Internet gossip.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 811

I am a comic genius! Daily Show thinks so, too! http://themolly.com/blog/?p=86

Official: First Android phone on September 23 http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/09/official-first.html … Read more