The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“We were pleased to see this morning that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a summary of the elements being discussed as part of the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
“Public Knowledge and many other organizations have called for months for such disclosure and transparency in the secret talks. The dissemination of the six-page summary will help to some degree to clarify what is being discussed.
“At the same time, however, this release can only be seen as a first step forward. It would have been helpful had the USTR elaborated more clearly the goals the United States wants to pursue in the treaty and what proposals our government has made, particularly in the area of intellectual property rights in a digital environment.
“We look forward to increasing disclosure and transparency from our negotiators as the treaty discussions proceed.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.