Michael Geist: New CETA agreement ACTA copies of records

The project CETA agreement, negotiated between Canada and the European Union, there are rules very similar to the provisions of ACTA, which was rejected by the European Parliament - according to documents published by Professor. Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa.

Documents that presents prof. Geist is - as provides - working versions of the agreement CETA (Canada-EU Trade Agreement) prepared in February 2012. CETA agreement itself can go a Geist by introducing legislation in the European Union, which have been questioned in the case of ACTA. The point is the provisions on the protection of copyright, intellectual property and the liability of Internet service providers, who would provide the owners of the rights of suspected violations. Founder of the Swedish Pirate Party Rickard Falkvinge, who are actively engaged against the ratification of ACTA, however, claims that it is too early to raise the alarm and says that the working version of the CETA in February was just developed for the ACTA agreement will be approved by European parliament.

Falkvinge writes that if the documents are real, their content is not surprising. According to him, there is a simple explanation as to why they contain the same content. "These documents were written with the assumption that ACTA is practically closed the agreement, which only needs final approval, so negotiators simply copied the material as the basis for a new contract '- wrote on his blog.

"If the European Commission would think that something like this could push the European Parliament, would have to be stupid and ignorant. Commission sometimes seems ignorant, because of the lack of contact with ordinary citizens, but it is very, very far from being stupid" - goes on Falkvinge .

ACTA is an international trade agreement on combating trade in counterfeit. It contains provisions on the protection of intellectual property, which - according to critics - will limit the free functioning of the Internet. In early July, the agreement was rejected by the European parliament.