18 Sep, 2008: Coalition of Technology Companies and Digital Rights Groups Comment on ACTA to USTR
Joint Statement on ACTA from American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Center for Democracy & Technology Computer & Communications Industry Association, Consumer Electronics Association Digital Future Coalition, Entertainment Consumers Association, Home Recording Rights Coalition, Information Technology Association of America, Intel Corporation, Internet Commerce Coalition, IP Justice, Knowledge Ecology International, Medical Library Association NetCoalition, Public Knowledge, Special Libraries Association, US Internet Industry Association, Verizon, Yahoo! Inc.

16 Sep, 2008: UN Agency to Curb Anonymous Internet Communications
An alarming report shows that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency that coordinates global telephony policy, is quietly working to make anonymous Internet use impossible. The ITU's "IP Traceback" proposal would enable governments (and some big companies) to spy on every individual's Internet use via embedding specific technical standards in Internet communications protocols. The surveillance proposal was originally sponsored by the Chinese government, but now the US National Security Agency (NSA) is one of it's biggest proponents. Companies such as Cisco Systems and VeriSign are also working closely with the ITU, NSA, and Chinese government to install this global spy network, called the "Q6/17 Drafting Group". Anonymous communication is a well-recognized ...

15 Sep, 2008: Secret Counterfeiting Treaty Public Must be Made Public, Global Organizations Say
More than 100 public interest organizations from around the world today called on officials from the countries negotiating Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to publish immediately the draft text of the agreement. Secrecy around the treaty negotiation has fueled concerns that its terms will undermine vital consumer interests. Organizations signing the letter include: IP Justice, Consumers Union, Essential Action, Knowledge Ecology International, Doctors without Borders’ Campaign for Essential Medicines, Australian Digital Alliance, The Canadian Library Association, Consumers Union of Japan, U.S. Public Interest Research Group ...

10 Sep, 2008: Public-Interest NGO’s Express Concerns with Proposed Senate Bill on Intellectual Property Enforcement
Twelve Public Interest Organizations Send US Senate Judiciary Joint Letter on Concerns Regarding S.3325, the "Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008": "The undersigned groups write to express our concerns with S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, soon to be marked up in the Committee on the Judiciary. While enforcing IP rights is necessary to ensuring the progress of science and the useful arts, an unbalanced approach to enforcement would lead to unintended harms and impede that progress. Several of the provisions contained within S. 3325 threaten such an imbalance...."

24 Aug, 2008: Sen. Joseph Biden’s Anti-Free Speech, Anti-Privacy, and Anti-Internet Platform
"US Senator Joseph Biden, Barack Obama's choice for Vice-Presidential candidate has a long track record in the US Senate of chipping away at Americans' privacy rights and freedom of expression rights - especially when it comes to the Internet and technology. Biden has done the bidding of Hollywood in the Senate for decades - he's fought P2P file networks, been a staunch supporter of the controversial DMCA, and sponsored RIAA bills to restrict a consumer's right to record songs over satellite radio. Biden sponsored FBI wire-tapping bills, voted for war in Iraq, voted for the (Anti) "Patriot" Act, and has a long history of working to keep strong encryption out of the hands of Americans. Biden helped ...

7 Aug, 2008: Statement on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to USTR from US Tech Trade Associations and Companies
Letter from AT&T, Amazon.com, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Consumer Electronics Association, eBay, Information Technology Association of America, Internet Commerce Coalition, NetCoalition, US Internet Service Provider Association, US Telecom Ass., Verizon Communications, Yahoo! Inc.

29 Jul, 2008: LEAKED: “Business Perspectives on Border Measures and Civil Enforcement”
Leaked Industry-Lobbyist Memo to ACTA Negotiators From "Concerned Business Groups in ACTA Nations" at 2nd Round of Secret Trade Negotiations in Washington, DC from 29-31 July 2008

23 Jul, 2008: Letter to USTR on ACTA from Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Library Copyright Alliance, NetCoalition
Tech Industry Statement on 29-31 July 2008 ACTA Negotiations in DC: "We strongly oppose any requirement in ACTA that signatories enact statutory damages... Copyright statutory damages are one feature of our IP law that we should not seek to export.... Finally we wish to express our disappointment that we learned of the agenda for next week's negotiations from the DFAT [Australian Govt] website rather than our own government...."

9 Jul, 2008: G8 Declaration on the World Economy
Read Text of GB Declaration on a World Economy and G8's Pledge to Increase Intellectual Property Rights and International Enforcement and to Deputize Customs Agents to Search and Seize Laptops, iPods, and PDA's of Unsuspected Citizens in Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

26 Jun, 2008: ICANN Board Approves Censorship Policy for Domain Names Based on Morality: 2 Board Members Speak Against It
Today in Paris the ICANN Board passed the GNSO's controversial recommendations to censor top level domains based on notions of "morality and public order", and broadly defined "community" wishes. However, 2 ICANN board members, law professors Wendy Seltzer (on behalf of the At-Large Internet Users) and Susan Crawford, made very powerful and compelling statements to protect free expression on the top level of the Internet. Hopefully Professor Crawford is right and this harm can be mitigated through narrowly tailored implementation.

2 Jun, 2008: US Supreme Court Hands Big Win to Free Speech Advocates in the IP World
[Major League Baseball v. CBC Distribution] By Allonn E. Levy, Esq. "An obvious “win” for Free Speech advocates and “netizens” concerned with ensuring open access to information on the Internet, the case also helps the burgeoning field of Internet information consolidators who help consumers collect information and process it. Expect to see the case cited frequently in the near future as more and more courts will be facing cases where Internet based information companies battle these issues out with content holders..."

22 May, 2008: Leaked US Govt. Discussion Paper on Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) from Wikileaks
Wikileaks today posted a leaked document from the US Government discussing the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is a new multi-lateral trade agreement spearheaded by the US, European Union, Switzerland, Australia, and a select handful of other wealthy nations to create new international legal rules for the regulation of intellectual property rights. IP Justice submitted comments to the USG and wrote a White Paper on ACTA in March and today's leaked document confirms our fears about what ACTA's proponents have in store for us. Here are .pdf versions of the leaked USG discussion paper about ACTA...

13 May, 2008: Statement at IGF Open Consultation of IGF Dynamic Coalition for Access to Knowledge and Free Expression (A2K@IGF)
"IPR protection has always been given to creators and inventors in exchange for some benefit to the public. These are usually included in IP law as exceptions and limitations that can provide a benefit to the public. For example, when copyright owners permit the copying of their materials for private and educational use, they contribute to the general pool of knowledge available on the Internet. The practice of remixing, re-using, editing, and combining of audio-video and text to comment on culture and create transformative works depends upon a system of robust exceptions and limitations to exclusive rights. This coalition supports innovation and the creation of wealth through IPR incentivization, but we also seek to support alternative ...