E-Paper
US to pursue talks on international anti-piracy agreement
US President Barack Obama's administration said on Friday it would proceed with negotiations to formulate an agreement among trading partners to battle copyright piracy.
US President Barack Obama's administration said on Friday it would proceed with negotiations to formulate an agreement among trading partners to battle copyright piracy.
The administration has been conducting an overall review of current and pending trade agreements, including efforts to agree on an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) pursued under Obama's predecessor George W Bush.
"The ACTA negotiations provide an opportunity to toughen international standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights, making it harder for counterfeit and pirated products to enter our country, and making the world safer for the innovation and creativity that are so critical to the US economy," said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
"As we proceed with these negotiations, we will ensure that the public is kept well informed and has further opportunities to give input," he said in a statement.
The United States has been working with several trading partners, including Australia, Canada, the European Union and its 27 member states, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland to negotiate the agreement.
Negotiations on the ACTA began in June 2008.
