ACTA: Will the Developing Countries Follow the TRIPS-plus Initiative?

Proposed on the basis of increasing inflow of counterfeited products, Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a treaty intended to be enacted by a number of developed countries as a TRIPS-plus mandate for increased enforcement against counterfeited products. ACTA is evaluated by us and others as very pro-rights holder & pro importing countries, in the sense it presents options to withhold allegedly infringing goods at variable stages of the value-chain, at minor grounds, with potential more extreme civil and criminal procedure consequences. Albeit ACTA is expected to effect the decrease in counterfeited goods, a side-effect could be the inhibition of otherwise free movement of legal goods between countries. One example of this could be inhibition of free movement of drugs and their resources for production ¨C especially because establishment of actual infringement is difficult due to the nature of the good. We foresee an increased number of disputes surrounding withholding the free movement of goods ¨C especially medicines ¨C between countries acceding to TRIPS resp. ACTA.