Mexican Senate Urges Rejection Of ACTA

The Mexican Senate this week approved a resolution rejecting the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, according to sources, citing absence of inclusion in the negotiations, potential negative impact on internet users’ access to knowledge, freedom of expression and other concerns.

[Update: the Senate Gazeta is available here [pdf] ]

The resolution (in Spanish) is here. It calls on the Mexican government not to sign the agreement but does not represent a binding rejection.

ACTA was negotiated by Mexico and a league of rights-holding developed nations (and Morocco) without the involvement of parliamentary bodies. The agreement, which aims to curb widespread counterfeiting and piracy among signatory nations and potentially additional future signatories, recently opened for signatures (IPW, IP Live, 27 May 2011).

The Mexican action and other developments led the American University Information Justice programme to suggest that ACTA might only be “soft” law after all, as it does not have parliamentary approval in any country.

La Quadrature du Net release on Senate passage is here.

The website ALT1040 has a report on the event (In Spanish) here.