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Statement by more than 70 organizations: “We urge the EU and Canadian governments to follow the lead of the Australian government by stopping the practice of including investor-state dispute settlement in their trade and investment agreements, and to open the door to a broad re-writing of trade and investment policy to balance out corporate interests against the greater public interest.” See the full statement:...

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Today EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht travels to Washington to discuss the possibilities to start negotiations on an EU – US trade agreement. Some companies already dream of setting a gold standard in areas such as intellectual property rights (IPR) protection. That sounds like ACTA, the agreement overwhelmingly voted down last July in the European Parliament. Will ACTA return, should IPR be part...

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Tomorrow EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht will travel to Washington to discuss the possibilities to start negotiations on an EU – US trade agreement. The industry already dreams of setting a gold standard in areas such as intellectual property protection – just like they tried with ACTA. But that is not all. An EU – US trade agreement will also give a boost...

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Tuesday EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht will travel to Washington to discuss the possibilities to start negotiations on an EU – US trade agreement. The industry already dreams of setting a gold standard in areas such as intellectual property protection. Does that sound familiar? Yes, it does. It sounds like ACTA, the agreement overwhelmingly voted down last July in the European Parliament. ACTA...

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The draft trade agreement between the European Union and Canada (CETA) threatens the Internet, health and democracy. The agreement contains an investor-state arbitration clause, which gives multinational companies the right to directly sue states in international tribunals. CETA places these arbitration tribunals above the high courts of Europe and Canada. (-> Version Française) Bypass democracy Investor-state arbitration clauses give multinationals the right to sue...

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Much has been written about the tragic death of Aaron Swartz. As I didn’t know him personally, I would like to limit myself to three words: rest in peace (and my deepest sympathy for his family, loved ones and friends). Are there lessons in this for Europe (and beyond)? Yes. First, access to knowledge and culture is a human right. As Peter Yu wrote...

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The European Commission has withdrawn its referral of ACTA to the European Court of Justice. This spring, the commission had asked the court: “Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) compatible with the European Treaties, in particular with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union?” It did this in the midst of massive protests against ACTA, hoping the European Parliament would postpone its...

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I just sent a letter to Member of the European Parliament Luigi Berlinguer on the EU patent. Dear Mr Berlinguer, About a year ago, we exchanged some emails on ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. You were an early critic of ACTA. Today I write to you to share my concerns about the unitary patent. The unitary patent proposal shows a fundamental conflict. Should a...

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