Article 41 – The Ultimate Answer

Your nation has already signed the agreement and ratification is pending. You don’t get anything from unprofessional apologies from diplomates who signed ACTA. Simply request your  government to file an Article 41 note. The Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Democracy, The Internet, and Everything is 41.

ARTICLE 41: WITHDRAWAL
A Party may withdraw from this Agreement by means of a written notification to the Depositary. The withdrawal shall take effect 180 days after the Depositary receives the notification.

Furthermore ACTA legality should be reviewed before the European Court of Justice, and the Europeann Parliament in Strassbourg could deny its consent.

Update: Of course we are aware that ACTA is not in force and not ratified yet. Still a signatory state can notify the other parties of ACTA that he withdraws from the signature of the agreement. The intentions of the Ultimate 41 is to demonstrate that ACTA is no fate, and premature signing of the agreement is no excuse. Signatory nations can prior and past ratification withdraw by submission of a notification. To make it happen is a matter of you.

ARTICLE 40: ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. This Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after the date of deposit of the
sixth instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval as between those Signatories
that have deposited their respective instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval.
2. This Agreement shall enter into force for each Signatory that deposits its
instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval after the deposit of the sixth
instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval, thirty days after the date of deposit
by such Signatory of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval.

Withdrawal from other agreements like WTO TRIPS is far more difficult because they are tied to a Trade package. TRIPS 1994 Article 27 mandates 20 years of patent protection for all fields. Of course that does not make any sense for highly dynamic markets like software, web, smartphones; where software patents were an obscure exception in the early 90ths when TRIPS was drafted. 20 years is plain overkill and thanks to TRIPS we cannot taylor the patent system to market dynamics anymore. Unforseen effects are also the reason why we should refrain to sign an agreement that simply “approves the status quo” (as proponents claim). Current rules become “liquid concrete”.

2 thoughts on “Article 41 – The Ultimate Answer

  1. Great… but that is just ACTA

    Berne Convention 1886, Article 35: http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/trtdocs_wo001.html#P388_71657

    Phonograms Convention (1971), Article 12: http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/phonograms/trtdocs_wo023.html#P82_10559

    WIPO CT (1996), Article 23: http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wct/trtdocs_wo033.html#P134_19571

    WIPO PPT (1996), Article 31: http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/wppt/trtdocs_wo034.html#P189_29496

    WTO TRIPs (1994), no withdrawal or denunciation clause?!?

    The only thing is that we need to create a large “Coalition of the Willing” to back out of all these treaties, preferably by entering into a new, comprehensive agreement.

  2. As long as no state has ratified (or deposited document of approval), there is no need to withdraw, bacause the treaty has not entered into force (regarding this party).

    Withdrawal is for later, if ACTA enters into force among (some) ratifying countries.