1、Unit 5Europes Internet Revolt:Protester See Threats in Antipiracy Treaty Contents ACTA 1European Protest 2Effects of Protest34 Topics for discussion Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement(ACTA)ACTA is a multinational treaty for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual proper
2、ty rights enforcement.The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods,generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet,and would create a new governing body outside existing forums,such as the World Trade Organization,the World Intellectua
3、l Property Organization,and the United Nations.The agreement was signed in October 2011 by Australia,Canada,Japan,Morocco,New Zealand,Singapore,South Korea,and the United States.In 2012,Mexico,the European Union and 22 countries which are member states of the European Union signed as well.One signat
4、ory(Japan)has ratified(formally approved)the agreement,which would come into force in countries that ratified it after ratification by six countries.Similar US Acts SOPA:The Stop Online Piracy Act was a United States bill introduced by U.S.Representative Lamar S.Smith(R-TX)to expand the ability of U
5、.S.law enforcement to combat online copyright infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit goods.Provisions included the requesting of court orders to bar advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with infringing websites,and search engines from linking to the websit
6、es,and court orders requiring Internet service providers to block access to the websites.On January 18,2012,the English Wikipedia,Google,and an estimated 7,000 other smaller websites coordinated a service blackout,in protest against the bill.Wikipedia said more than 162 million people viewed its ban
7、ner.Other protests against SOPA and PIPA included petition drives,with Google stating it collected over seven million signatures,boycotts of companies and organizations that support the legislation,and an opposition rally held in New York City.PIPA:The PROTECT IP Act(Preventing Real Online Threats t
8、o Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act,or PIPA)was a proposed law with the stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to rogue websites dedicated to the sale of infringing or counterfeit goods,especially those registered outsid
9、e the U.S.The bill was introduced on May 12,2011,by Senator Patrick Leahy(D-VT)and 11 bipartisan co-sponsors.The Congressional Budget Office estimated that implementation of the bill would cost the federal government$47 million through 2016,to cover enforcement costs and the hiring and training of 2
10、2 new special agents and 26 support In the wake of online protests held on January 18,2012,Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that a vote on the bill would be postponed until issues raised about the bill were resolved.European Protest The signature of the EU and many of its member states re
11、sulted in widespread protests across Europe.The European Parliaments independent monitor for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement(ACTA)resigned Friday in protest after 22 European Union member states signed the anti-piracy treaty Thursday.Poland was to sign it.Anonymous attacks on Polish governme
12、nt sites and weeks of street protests.Protest in SwedenProtest in UKWhy Do People Protest?This threatens the entire founding idea of the Internet the free sharing of information.But ACTA doesnt stop there.It goes beyond the Internet,bearing down on generic drugs and food patents.If passed,ACTA will
13、enforce a global standard for seed patenting,which would wipe out independent,local farmers and make the world completely dependent on the patent owners(read big corporations)for supplies.According to the BBC,Kader Arif said that he condemns“the whole process which led to the signature of this agree
14、ment:no consultation of the civil society,lack of transparency since the beginning of negotiations,repeated delays of the signature of the text without any explanation give,reject of Parliaments recommendations as given in several resolutions of our assembly.All negotiations were held behind closed
15、doors.While the provisions are currently public,their genesis was hidden from democratic scrutiny,and most nations signed on to ACTA without any chance for their citizenry to review or comment on the process.Beyond its undemocratic origins,its often unclear how ACTAs requirements would be implemente
16、d,or could be implemented without creating a technical architecture online that restricts speech.Its not worth the paper its written on because Brazil,India,China and Russia arent involved in it.It will kill innovation.Setting up business will be more difficult.Effects of Protests European Parliamen
17、t rapporteur Kader Arif resigned.His replacement,British MEP David Martin,recommended that the Parliament should reject ACTA,stating:The intended benefits of this international agreement are far outweighed by the potential threats to civil liberties.On 4 July 2012,the European Parliament declined it
18、s consent,effectively rejecting it,478 votes to 39,with 165 abstentions.Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland sent a letter to his fellow leaders in the EU Friday urging them to reject ACTA,reversing Polands course with the controversial intellectual-property treaty.Topics for Discussion1.Do you agre
19、e to ACTA?Why or why not?2.If you were a patent holder,where would do you stand?Key A.1.bailouts 2.excluded 3.virtual 4.niche 5.trivialize 6.enforce 7.allay 8.mine 9.endorses 10.liabilities B.1.to make people go to the streets to demonstrate or protest against something2.to prevail3.to reveal the tr
20、uth;to break the myth4.to give support or ones approval to5.a focused,targetable portion of a market6.a sudden intense happening 7.something that is a frequent target of negative reactions and serves to distract attention from another8.make good use of C 1.尽管恶劣天气横扫欧洲大陆，今天扔将有数万民众走上街头进行抗议。他们抗议的不是财政紧缩措
21、施、救助问题，也不是中东问题。2.昨天，德国、波兰、捷克、斯洛伐克和拉脱维亚几个国家暂停批准这项协议，欧洲议会最早可能于5月份对此协议进行投票，有可能会使这项协议搁置。3.反仿冒贸易协定会改变现有的欧洲法律。目前欧洲法律要求互联网服务供应商应先得到法院命令才能够采取措施反对非法网上资料。4.反仿冒贸易协定将仿冒和未经授权的复制两个问题混为一谈，可能会淡化假冒药品的危害，从而导致对健康的伤害。5.我们欢迎对这一问题进行公开的辩论，当然是基于事实的辩论。但是现在有太多的担忧和错误认识。6.他们对那些成为百万富翁却还抱怨由于非法下载而带来损失利益的演员和公司管理者们极为蔑视，但是谋生问题是人数日益增多的年轻艺术家和录制唱片的专业技术人员所面临的困难。7.他们成功地宣扬了善与恶的斗争，媒体公司就扮演了恶的角色。事实上，对双方都存在着合法的利益。8.他说，已经无法再把文件共享这个妖怪重新放回魔瓶之中。9.欧盟已经对假冒行为做好了抵抗的准备，对数字产业的主要挑战是如何更好地保护他们在国外的权利。10.他们正在利用你的信息进行有针对的广告投放。或者在某些情况下，你成为恶意软件攻击的目标。你可能免费享用某些信息，但是它从来就不是免费的。
