known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, (.pdf) according to many critics, favors big media at the expense of the general public. And the intellectual property accord, which Obama could sign by year’s end, has pretty much been hammered out in secret between the European Union, Japan, the United States and a few other international players, including Canada and Australia. Noticeably absent is China.

That said, these academics suggested that Obama does not have the authority to unilaterally sign the accord, which has been in the works for three years and is nearly final. Instead, they said, it should be considered a treaty, necessitating two-thirds Senate approval.

“That would open this up to public debate,” Christopher Jon Sprigman, a University of Virginia School of Law scholar who signed the letter, said in a telephone interview.

However, we tend to agree with Mike Masnick over at techdirt, who suggests the letter won’t “make much of a difference.”

Scholars Jack Goldsmith and Lawrence Lessig said the U.S. Supreme Court has sent mixed signals when it comes to the chief executive’s power in this area.

“The Supreme Court, however, has never clarified the limits on such agreements. Historical practice and constitutional structure suggest that they must be based on one of the president’s express constitutional powers (such as the power to recognize foreign governments) or at least have a long historical pedigree (such as the president’s claims settlement power, which dates back over a century),” they wrote in a March editorial in the Washington Post.

“Joining ACTA by sole executive agreement,” they added, “would far exceed these precedents. The president has no independent constitutional authority over intellectual property or communications policy, and there is no long historical practice of making sole executive agreements in this area.”

To be sure, much of our chief concerns over ACTA, notwithstanding it being negotiated virtually in secret, concerned its internet section. Those fears have been minimized with the latest draft, as the United States has backed off on its move to globally dictate draconian copyright rules.

At one point, the Obama administration called the draft’s text a “national security” issue.

Photo: AP

See Also:

• ACTA Backs Away From 3 Strikes
• ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws
• Expert: ACTA No Longer Gutting Internet Freedom
• MPAA Says Copyright-Treaty Critics Hate Hollywood
• Europe Worries U.S. Bowing to ‘Industry’ in ACTA Talks
• Report: U.S. Fears Public Scrutiny Would Scuttle IP Treaty Talks …
• Here’s That Leaked Copyright Treaty Document

Authors: David Kravets

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