What is ACTA?

ACTA is the agreement between Austria, Canada, Japan, North Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the USA to which Europe is going to join. Its name is often translated as the ‘agreement against look-a-likes turnover’. However, it generally concerns the prevention of intellectual property also in the Internet. The supporters’ opinion on latitudes provided by the Internet may lead to block of various contents and the censorship which fights with piracy. 

  The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

‘If you don’t know what’s going on, it’s about money’. This proverb is well known by everybody but in the case of ACTA it is connected with gigantic amounts of money counted in milliards. This is a loss of big companies because of look-a-likes of their product. Now when we are aware of this fact we should make an effort asking ourselves what the ACTA really stands for.

Firstly, the ACTA is the international agreement which main goal is to protect the intellectual property rights.

This is why it is of a great importance for artists and companies which profit from selling music, films, computer games, brand clothes, patented medicines, modified seeds or popular stimulants. The average person will neither benefit from the introduction of ACTA nor lose providing he or she doesn’t use look-a-likes.

Furthermore, the ACTA assumes that the internet supplier is obliged to share with the police the personal data of a person suspected of  the piracy. Is this some kind of a gateway to spy the internet users? This is the opinion of people who are not in favor of the ACTA but its supporters say that the internet supplier has an obligation to share any necessary data of  the suspected internet users being given police petition.

Moreover, the ACTA will put into life the prohibition on selling the appliances and the programs used for breaking every kind of copyrights. 

Besides, according to a few creators of the agreement, the aim of the ACTA is to reduce Chinese piracy practices. Their optimistic belief that China will ever follow the regulations of the ACTA is too naive.

ACTA involves the internet suppliers in the fight with the piracy and  the illegal trade. The monitoring of all activation processes in the network made by a particular client will be also required.

The ACTA gives much freedom to censors. However, it is not said that they will take advantage of it.

 For further information about the ACTA and the dangers watch the movie:

This will become reality with ACTA 

 

The opinions of Polish creators on the ACTA  are divided. Some of  them are in favor of this agreement while other oppose it. In one of the morning polish programs were presented the opinions of two creators: the scriptwriter Ilona Łepkowska ( for the ACTA) and the musician Piotr ‘Glaca’ Mohamed (against the ACTA). Mohamed claims that web surfers who listen to downloaded music or download a recording of favorite music bands are more eager to go to their concerts and pay the entrance ticket. In turn, Łepkowska is of the opinion that financial loses for film creators may be huge because people instead of going to the cinema will watch a movie online. From TV program broadcasted in January 2012 we can find out a lot of opinion of Polish society which is against downloading music files, unauthorized usage of maps or photos on blogs or creation a remix of music track may be eligible for criminal liability. These and other precious opinions are included in this FILM.