David Lammy, United Kingdom Minister for Intellectual Property, today said the UK supports the European Union’s position that the text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) should be made public.

“The UK has long been in favour of greater transparency in the ACTA negotiations, so I am very pleased that EU has now agreed that the draft ACTA text should be placed in the public domain as soon as possible,” Lammy said in a press statement. “This would allow much more open and informed engagement with citizens, society, and parliaments.”

Lammy said that the European Commission “will take this message” to the next negotiating round in New Zealand in April “and seek the agreement of all other negotiating partners.”

“This is a very important step forward, and I will continue to push for these negotiations to be conducted openly and transparently,” he said. The 18-month-old negotiations (IPW, Bilateral/Regional Negotiations, 24 October 2007) have been plagued by complaints about the lack of transparency and inclusiveness.