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US Senator Questions Constitutionality Of ACTA

12/10/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 10 Comments

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The Obama administration’s recent signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement may face a US constitutional challenge as a member of the US Senate today called into question the administration’s power to negotiate and enter into such a trade agreement without Congress’s approval.

Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat often out front on technology issues, sent a 12 October letter addressed to President Obama taking issue the US Trade Representative (USTR)’s assertions that the ACTA is a “sole executive agreement” which can be entered into and implemented without the legislative branch’s involvement. USTR, which is part of the White House, has repeatedly said the agreement does not require changes to US law.

“[T]he executive branch lacks constitutional authority to enter into binding international agreements on matters under Congress’s plenary powers, including the Article I powers to regulate foreign commerce and protect intellectual property,” the letter states. “Yet, through ACTA and without your clarification, the USTR looks to be claiming the authority to do just that.”

Wyden demanded that the administration either declare that ACTA does not create any international obligations for the US and therefore is “non-binding,” or provide a legal rationale to the Congress and the public as to why ACTA should not be considered by Congress.

A number of law professors have doubts about the legality of the ACTA. A constitutional challenge can be launched if a member of Congress contests the agreement, according to sources.

Wyden’s press release and letter are here.

ACTA was signed on 1 October by a number of the negotiating countries (IPW, Bilateral/Regional Negotiations, 4 October 2011).

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Related

William New may be reached at wnew@ip-watch.ch.

Creative Commons License"US Senator Questions Constitutionality Of ACTA" by Intellectual Property Watch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Filed Under: IP Policies, Language, Themes, Venues, Access to Knowledge/ Education, Bilateral/Regional Negotiations, Copyright Policy, Enforcement, English, IP Law, North America, Patents/Designs/Trade Secrets, Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains

Comments

  1. Lulu says

    18/01/2012 at 10:05 pm

    this goes against the constitution and the 1st amendment. All of the websites lets us express ourselfs using FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Statement on Senator Wyden’s Letter on ACTA and the Constitution – International IP and the Public Interest says:
    13/10/2011 at 12:14 am

    […] …Senator Wyden Asks President Obama: Isn't Congress Required To Approve ACTA?TechdirtUS Senator Questions Constitutionality Of ACTAIntellectual Property Watch (blog)Japan – Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Signing […]

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  2. anti counterfeit trade agreement | Earthquakes Info says:
    17/11/2011 at 12:08 am

    […] US Senator Questions Constitutionality Of ACTA | Intellectual … The Obama administration's recent signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement may face a US constitutional challenge as a member of the US Senate today called into question the administration's power to negotiate …http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog .. […]

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  3. If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA - Forbes says:
    24/01/2012 at 5:04 pm

    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that. If this is the case, I can’t see anything actually standing in its way other than the risk […]

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  4. If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA | Blurpme | Real Time News says:
    24/01/2012 at 5:59 pm

    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the […]

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  5. | Free Radical Radio on the Big 810amFree Radical Radio on the Big 810am says:
    26/01/2012 at 6:34 pm

    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the […]

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  6. If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA | we must know says:
    26/01/2012 at 10:05 pm

    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the […]

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  7. If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA « Breaking News | Latest News | Current News says:
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    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the […]

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  8. ACTA (Cont’d) | says:
    01/02/2012 at 1:48 am

    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the […]

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  9. If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA says:
    05/02/2012 at 9:30 pm

    […] the president’s signature on this is all it takes for it to become law, though Sen. Ron Wyden has questioned the constitutionality of that move on the part of the […]

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