Seems worth a forward given that it mentions the SOPA protest as one of
the main causes for a better acceptance of sensible copyright lobby
(true or not?).
Nemo
-------- Messaggio originale --------
Oggetto: Blood in the water: Brett Smith reports from the latest
Trans-Pacific Partnership Stakeholder Forum
Data: Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:22:38 -0500
Mittente: Free Software Foundation <i...@fsf.org>
I'm in Melbourne to advocate for free software users and developers at
the latest round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Agreement (TPP), and I'm chomping at the bit to share a little good news
with you all. The tone of the discussion here has turned much more
friendly to us—and *it's thanks to your activism.*
Officially, the TPP negotiations are secret, but based on leaked text
and what we've heard from negotiators, it looks like once again the
United States will try to use this trade agreement to promote even more
draconian copyright, patent, and anti-circumvention legislation
internationally. In past negotiating rounds
</blogs/community/fsf-speaks-against-tpp>, negotiators heard plenty of
opposition to such proposals from the groups you'd expect, like the FSF,
Knowledge Ecology International, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Now, that tent is expanding.
TPP negotiators have seen the overwhelmingly negative response to SOPA,
PIPA, and ACTA, and it worries them. They want to make sure the same
fate doesn't befall TPP, and several stakeholder presentations have been
framed to offer a solution to just that problem. We and our allies have
the easiest job of that: we simply point out that our concerns match the
protestors', and TPP can do better by heeding our suggestions.
Technology industry groups are now more vocally expressing their
concerns and explicitly positioning themselves opposite big copyright
companies. Even our political opponents feel pressured to adopt this
frame: Gina Vetere from the US Chamber of Commerce took pains to note
that TPP does not include SOPA's provisions, and suggested that the
lesson to learn from the SOPA debate was that “all stakeholders” support
the DMCA's approach to copyright enforcement. (I made sure to set the
record straight during her Q&A!)
Your activism around SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA—your protests, your phone
calls and letters to legislators, your Web site blackouts—have had a
real positive impact on the terms of the discussion here in Melbourne.
Of course, that doesn't mean our work on TPP is done. Everyone's well
aware that the US trade delegation, and the companies that stand to
benefit from its work, are bullheaded and persistent. But negotiators
are taking our concerns more seriously than ever before. I thank you for
the effort that got us to this moment, and I'll do everything I can to
make the most of it during the negotiations.
*Help keep the pressure up!* TPP hasn't received enough attention to
date—because the negotiations are secret, many media outlets assume
there's nothing to report. Spread the word however you can—through
blogs, mailing lists, and social media—to let your friends and
colleagues know that TPP is a threat just as serious as ACTA or SOPA.
Negotiators will meet several times over the course of 2012 as they rush
to finalize the text. If they're coming to your town, that's a great
opportunity for activism like protests and public events. We'll have
more details after negotiations conclude in Melbourne, and we're
planning follow-up posts with more ideas for how you can help.
We also plan to attend more TPP Stakeholder Forums so we can continue
advocating for free software users and developers throughout the
drafting process. Please support our efforts (and help cover the travel
costs!) by joining as an Associate Member or making a donation </join>.
--
Follow us on identi.ca at http://identi.ca/fsf | Subscribe to our blogs
via RSS at http://fsf.org/blogs/RSS
Join us as an associate member at http://fsf.org/jf
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