Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement - Right or Wrong?

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The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed plurilateral trade agreement for establishing international standards on intellectual-property-rights enforcement throughout the participating countries. Its proponents describe it as a response "to the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works." The scope of ACTA is broad, including counterfeit goods, generic medicines, as well as "piracy over the Internet"

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Problems with the law include:

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The negotiants' preliminary documents reveal many troubling aspects of the proposed agreement." such as removing "legal safeguards that protect Internet Service Providers from liability for the actions of their subscribers" in effect giving ISPs no option but to comply with privacy invasions.

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Guilty until proven innocent attitude: Police are allowed to charge people who are under suspicion of illegal downloading without investigating first. Apparently in the leaked 2010 documents, Police passing in the streets or police at airports can ask for your laptop/Ipod/Phone to check for illegally downloaded content.

Anyway, is this right or wrong?

I personally think it's wrong. Invasion of privacy is NOT cool, no matter how just the cause is.

You can download the full text of the law here:

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/5425059/

Which isn't illegal to do by the way, you can't copyright the text of a law :P

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"It provides for criminalization of copyright infringement, granting law enforcement the powers to perform criminal investigation, arrests and pursue criminal citations or prosecution of suspects who MAY have infringed on copyright"

Basically, you're guilty until proven otherwise. Nice move big brother, nice move.

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The guilty until proven innocent is a good idea in general - but not or pirating..

I mean for thugs on the streets who when they get arrested use the 'I AM INNOCENT UNTIL YOU PROVE I AM GUILTY' story it would shut them up. But for pirating I just don't think it is worth it.

This and the Digitial Economy Bill? :/ Seems like a waste of time. It costs the digitial industry millions/billions to protect their work, so it's a waste of money to make these investments. They should keep with what happened in the past - let the good people who pay for things go about their business, and only worry about the baddies when they're caught in the act (websites logging them, being seen in public etc etc). That, or make their prices competitive for once.

I agree. I game on the PC and the cost for a game through digital download is the same as through hard copy.

Now, tell me that isn't greed. No case. disc or manual.

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Originally Posted by Niall!

... Apparently in the leaked 2010 documents, Police passing in the streets or police at airports can ask for your laptop/Ipod/Phone to check for illegally downloaded content. ...

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I didn't know this part, I'm completely shocked! At first I was like yeah fair enough - I'll just get loads of downloading done before the law comes into place, but if they can just stop me and look at my iPod, that's just stupid. Besides, how can you tell what on an iPod has been downloaded illegally? The only tell-tale sign is in the 'Notes' column of iTunes which I delete regularly and I don't think you can even access it from the iPod.

When are these laws due to come into place?

It's interesting how these futuristic war games reflect on current issues. The modern, western world are considered confused and paranoid, while the "terror" worlds are, well, just that - terrorists. You'd think we would learn by now to not be so paranoid :/ This seems like a fine example of the government and media world being paranoid about who's doing what.

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Originally Posted by Black_Apalachi

I didn't know this part, I'm completely shocked! At first I was like yeah fair enough - I'll just get loads of downloading done before the law comes into place, but if they can just stop me and look at my iPod, that's just stupid. Besides, how can you tell what on an iPod has been downloaded illegally? The only tell-tale sign is in the 'Notes' column of iTunes which I delete regularly and I don't think you can even access it from the iPod.

When are these laws due to come into place?

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Unclear, but me and many people are now campaigning against it. It's an infringement of human rights and a law that will only benefit the corporations. How to campaign? Spread the word. The more people know about these laws and what they consist of, the better. The government is trying to keep it secret for a reason, and that's because mass public exposure would cause it to collapse.

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Originally Posted by Android

The guilty until proven innocent is a good idea in general - but not or pirating.

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No legal system in the world should function like this. It's the worst possible idea.

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Originally Posted by DrLacero

No legal system in the world should function like this. It's the worst possible idea.

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Like Lacero said, this is a founding principle of law, the right to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. Checking people randomly on the streets I would imagine is a violation of human rights. I don't agree with it at all.

The Labour Party treating people as guilty before proven innocent - are you really all that suprised? - Much like when they banned Geert Wilders from coming to Britain and David Milliband called him hateful and racist, yet when asked had he seen Wilders film himself the answer was no.

We are quick to slam countries like Zimbabwe for being undemocratic yet we are just as bad, at least ZANU-PF dont pretend they are democratic whereas our lot do. I believe that the detention time here without trial is higher than that of Zimbabwes, speaks volumes doesnt it.

If you are paranoid about them checking your ipod use Bigboss tool thing (where you swipe the top) to hide installous and what not, hence no proof you commited piracy.

If i ever got asked by a police officer if they could search my stuff id want formal verification of who they are before doing so, they could be a random stranger dressed up who could steal your goods.

And what happens if you refuse to show them? They arrest you anyway, this is very stupid and against human rights.
Im sure there is something that lets you surf anonymously, so could you just not download off that?
Theres still always going to be pirating, even if its your mates ripping a new CD and sending you it over msn, then it would appear as if you have made a genuine purchase.
I bet some people buy the CD's and rip them to their computers then send people them or copy the CD's and sell them.
Piracy will never go away, no matter how hard the authorities try fail.

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Originally Posted by Jayme

And what happens if you refuse to show them? They arrest you anyway, this is very stupid and against human rights.
Im sure there is something that lets you surf anonymously, so could you just not download off that?
Theres still always going to be pirating, even if its your mates ripping a new CD and sending you it over msn, then it would appear as if you have made a genuine purchase.
I bet some people buy the CD's and rip them to their computers then send people them or copy the CD's and sell them.
Piracy will never go away, no matter how hard the authorities try fail.

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Human Rights is he biggest loads of ******** ever.