Talks on a new anti-counterfeiting deal will continue shortly in the United States with the aim of wrapping up an agreement this year, negotiators from major economies said on Friday, according to Reuters. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is being negotiated by a dozen governments and authorities, mainly in rich states but including some emerging economies, to police trademark protection more effectively and ban Internet piracy. It has been criticised by China and India who said last month the deal could be used to disrupt legitimate commerce. In a statement following a ninth round of discussions in Lucerne, Switzerland, negotiators said they had moved towards consensus in areas including border measures, civil and criminal enforcement and the digital environment. Officials from the United States, European Union, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and Australia "reaffirmed their commitment to continue their work with the aim of concluding ACTA as soon as possible in 2010," the statement said. The deal could allow customs officers of signatory states to search shipments of goods they believe to be counterfeit, such as medicines or car parts, possibly leading to seizures or criminal prosecution. Some developing countries believe the ACTA states will use the deal to fight legal generic drugs or to stretch beyond the enforcement norms established in the World Trade Organisation's intellectual property agreement. On Friday, negotiators dismissed the threat of overreach. "While ACTA aims at establishing effective enforcement standards for existing intellectual property rights, it is not intended to include new intellectual property rights or to enlarge or diminish existing intellectual property rights," the statement said. "ACTA will be consistent with the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and the Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health." The next set of negotiations will be hosted by the United States, the participants said, without announcing a date. The European Union quotes data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimating that infringements of intellectual property traded internationally total more than 150 billion euros ($201.3 billion) a year.
