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ESA Applauds USTR’s Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Negotiations Announcement
October 23, 2007 – Washington, D.C. – The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today praised the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announcement of its intention to enter into negotiations with a group of key trading partners for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
“Strong intellectual property protections are a foundation for U.S. job growth and vital to ESA members’ ability to provide rewarding game-playing experiences to customers,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president of the ESA, the association representing U.S. publishers of computer and video games. “We appreciate efforts by participating countries to commit to high standards of intellectual property protection and greater enforcement cooperation. Pirate networks span international boundaries, and so must enforcement efforts.”
The agreement is expected to reflect high standards for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement among key trading partners, including Canada, the EU, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland and Mexico – all significant markets for the entertainment software industry. A second phase would permit the agreement to be joined by other interested countries.
Gallagher continued, “We urge participating countries to further strengthen border measures that thwart the migration of pirated games, to include strong prohibitions against circumvention devices and services, and to seek commitments by government and the private sector to act against online piracy.”
The ESA expressed hope that parties to the negotiations would not await the conclusion of this agreement before undertaking long-awaited reforms, particularly in countries such as Canada.
The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. ESA members collectively account for more than 90 percent of the $7.4 billion in entertainment software sales in the U.S. in 2006, and billions more in export sales of entertainment software. For more information about the ESA, please visit www.theESA.com.
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