Lamy Tells EU Parliament No (For Now) On ACTA

World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy has answered a letter from members of the European Parliament asking that the WTO provide an “expert assessment and analysis of the current provision” of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) under negotiation.

In his 4 May reply to the Parliament members’ letter dated 15 April, Lamy said “I and the WTO Secretariat are in no position to provide authoritative comments on ACTA or its negotiating process,” the WTO, as such, have no role in the negotiations. (IPW, Access to Knowledge, 15 April 2010)

“ACTA is being pursued by a subset of WTO members who have elected to negotiating [sic] among themselves certain standards on the enforcement of IP beyond the agreed level set out in the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. This is a matter between the negotiating parties,” he said in the letter. The WTO secretariat would become involved if asked by its members, and can provide documentation, he added.

Lamy’s reply letter, posted by Knowledge Ecology International, is here. [pdf]

European Parliament letter here.

European Parliament Resolution on ACTA here.