Ahead of a key vote by the European Parliament on Wednesday 4th July, IFLA, along with the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA), has today issued a statement calling on MEPs to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ACTA is a proposed international agreement aimed at creating a stronger framework for global enforcement of intellectual property rights.

The provisions in ACTA go beyond the current internationally-agreed standards in the TRIPS Agreement. IFLA and EBLIDA have monitored the progress of the agreement since negotiations began in 2007. Throughout the process we have been gravely concerned by the extreme secrecy surrounding the ACTA negotiations and the complete lack of transparency related to ACTA’s procedures, provisions, and priorities, which has been unprecedented for a global-norm setting activity among democratic nations. We have consistently emphasised that the issues have many facets and should be discussed in an open and fair manner at WIPO, the appropriate forum for such topics.

View the full text of the IFLA-EBLIDA statement asking MEPs to reject ACTA