If you haven't followed up on my suggestion to look into the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, here are several more links to perspectives you might want to consider. This thing is well out of hand and only through clear and effective public demands will the onerous terms of ACTA be avoided.
Excellent materials on the We Rebuild web site.
Free Software Foundation link on the Linux.com site HERE.
ComputerWorld, New Zealand HERE.
Great Statement by Mark Harris on ACTA Lemming-Brothers HERE
As I have said since the first attempts to pass DMCA and UCITA: "If we do not start monitoring what is being done in terms of special interest lobbying, we are ALL going to discover too late that what is being done is being done to us."
Once these laws, acts, regulations, and agreements are passed, they will be impossible to counter.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) – DMCA & UCITA on steroids?
You say that you're too busy to follow pending legislation? Understandable. You were probably busy while the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) were under consideration, too. Yet... Both of these - as well as ACTA - have direct and serious implications for you and your business.
Well, just in case you are bored (or if you are at all concerned about your future access to the Internet) you may want to take at least a surface look at the latest attempt to establish more draconian oversight on the parts of the digital content providers. It's called the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and this one represents the absolute cutting edge in “stealth legislation.”
Quick Discussion?
Example of Stealth Legislation
How will UCITA get to you?
As stealth legislation, ACTA is building an entirely new methodology. This time around, instead of appealing to individual legislators, the special interest groups have managed to serve their uniquely brewed fruit punch to the executive leadership of multiple countries.
The result? In its incarnation as a “Trade Agreement” ACTA does not have to be approved – or even reviewed – by elected legislators. There exists virtually no oversight in terms of content, focus, or legality. As an agreement between national leadership, ACTA becomes a sort of binding international regulation by default.
In keeping with its stealth legacy, ACTA has been maintained as a carefully guarded secret from the public. Unbelievable as it seems, in the United States, details of this agreement are being hidden behind a secrets of “National Security” blanket. Attempts to gain access to working documents under the Freedom of Information Act have been routinely met with refusals citing National Security. The U.S. Trade Office, which seems to be spearheading the agreement.
Even more chilling are the number of digital rights group representative who HAVE had access to the language of the agreement. As with DMCA, it appears that the majority of input is being delivered by digital content special interest groups – versus consumer rights advocates. Reading between the lines should bring to mind the intense efforts of the software, music, and motion picture groups in their efforts to gain more control over access, distribution, and use of related products.
For a list of private sector individuals who have gained access follow this LINK to the Knowledge Ecology International web site. These folks appear to have the most comprehensive review.
I'd love to tell you more about this interesting little load of nitro but, frankly, there just isn't any clear information to go on. So, instead, my goal is to just get you moving forward toward other web sites – many of which focus on tracking these types of activities. So, here's a list of links to check out:
Well, just in case you are bored (or if you are at all concerned about your future access to the Internet) you may want to take at least a surface look at the latest attempt to establish more draconian oversight on the parts of the digital content providers. It's called the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and this one represents the absolute cutting edge in “stealth legislation.”
Quick Discussion?
- First, we'll take a very quick view of how easily stealth legislation comes into being.
- Next, we'll discuss UCITA, a basic example of stealth legislation in action.
- You'll also want to take a close look at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This second example of stealth legislation was more successfully accomplished by the special interest groups.
- Then, just so you aren't left hanging, we'll show how the example legislation will impact your business – AND how you can stonewall its influence.
- Finally, we'll take a very quick look at the latest stealth attempt and provide links you can follow to review further information.
- Occurs when special interest groups (and their lobbying groups) gain dominant access to willing political figures,
- The special interest groups “help assemble” legislative proposals that favor their interests,
- Actually “help” is a relatively benign word for an environment in which, sometimes, the special interest groups actually draft the proposed legislation,
- Once crafted, the legislation is either grafted on to another, less controversial, document, or it is quietly passed (usually late on a weekday evening) when the C-Span cameras (and public scrutiny) are focused elsewhere,
- The real key – an issue that should chill you to the absolute bone – is that these legislative acts are conducted very silently behind the scenes without the benefit of public oversight.
- You wake up one morning and discover that you are legally bound by a law you've never heard of.
Example of Stealth Legislation
Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)
- UCITA started out as a modification to the United States Code,
- The committee responsible for updating the Code refused to include the UCITA segment after closely reviewing both the document AND the process by which it was assembled,
- As far as content, UCITA would have made an enormous number of content provider sharp practices 100% legal,
- The “rights” of the technology consumer were simply not covered within UCITA in any manner,
- Link HERE for a quick review of the UCITA sharp practices.
- As to the manner in which the detailed language of UCITA came about, one witness reported that, during any session in which the public was invited to attend the review, the number of content industry lawyers & lobbyists in the speaking line outnumbered the public by 60 to 1.
- When the review committee refused to include the UCITA content in the updated U.S. Code, the digital content providers & their friends immediately began a focused effort to get the regulation passed at the individual state levels.
- UCITA was passed and is currently part of state law in Maryland & Virginia.
- When word of UCITA content finally leaked to the public, the groundswell of local opposition grew so rapidly that many states considered the UCITA regulation onerous enough to pass Anti-UCITA legislation.
How will UCITA get to you?
- Every significant contract and/or license includes a clause titled “Governing Law.”
- To counteract your rights under UCITA, the content provider simply cites Maryland or Virginia as the State of Governing Law.
- If your state does not have an Anti UCITA Law in effect, your relationship with that provider will be governed by UCITA. (For the moment, we'll assume your state does not have a legal UCITA barrier.)
- The only way to effectively counteract the UCITA threat is to read every technology-related agreement (Yes, licenses, too!) and strike out any attempt to make Maryland or Virginia the state of governing law.
- If your provider is attempting to insert this venue into its licenses you can be very certain that the supplier is aware of its powers under UCITA and intends to take advantage of those powers in your relationship.
As stealth legislation, ACTA is building an entirely new methodology. This time around, instead of appealing to individual legislators, the special interest groups have managed to serve their uniquely brewed fruit punch to the executive leadership of multiple countries.
The result? In its incarnation as a “Trade Agreement” ACTA does not have to be approved – or even reviewed – by elected legislators. There exists virtually no oversight in terms of content, focus, or legality. As an agreement between national leadership, ACTA becomes a sort of binding international regulation by default.
In keeping with its stealth legacy, ACTA has been maintained as a carefully guarded secret from the public. Unbelievable as it seems, in the United States, details of this agreement are being hidden behind a secrets of “National Security” blanket. Attempts to gain access to working documents under the Freedom of Information Act have been routinely met with refusals citing National Security. The U.S. Trade Office, which seems to be spearheading the agreement.
Even more chilling are the number of digital rights group representative who HAVE had access to the language of the agreement. As with DMCA, it appears that the majority of input is being delivered by digital content special interest groups – versus consumer rights advocates. Reading between the lines should bring to mind the intense efforts of the software, music, and motion picture groups in their efforts to gain more control over access, distribution, and use of related products.
For a list of private sector individuals who have gained access follow this LINK to the Knowledge Ecology International web site. These folks appear to have the most comprehensive review.
I'd love to tell you more about this interesting little load of nitro but, frankly, there just isn't any clear information to go on. So, instead, my goal is to just get you moving forward toward other web sites – many of which focus on tracking these types of activities. So, here's a list of links to check out:
Wired Magazine – Always one of my favorite sources.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/feds-fear-acta-scrutiny/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/03/obama-declares/
Electronic Frontier Foundation – Another great resource.
http://www.eff.org/search?text=ACTA
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/11/leaked-acta-internet-provisions-three-strikes-and-
Public Knowledge -
http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/acta
Virtual Review -
http://virtualreview.org/tech/zoom/1298179/report-us-fears-public-scrutiny-would-scuttle-acta
U.S. Trade Representative -
http://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/factsheets/2009/asset_upload_file917_15546.pdf
European Commission -
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/trade-topics/intellectual-property/index_en.htm
UCITA Links – Be careful with some of these. Some were (are) developed by fruit punch salesmen for public consumption. Review multiple perspectives before you take action.
Software Asset Management Services, Inc. - Good info and more links to UCITA – I can say that because I wrote them...
http://www.samsrv.com/ucita.htm
Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT) – Good resource.
http://www.ucita.com/what_problems.html
Bad Software – Interesting perspectives
http://www.badsoftware.com/uccindex.htm
The “party line”
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