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Mexico's IP Office Surprised Its Congress By Signing ACTA, And Now Hopes To Win Their Support

from the good-luck-with-that dept

Mon, Jul 16th 2012 10:11am — Mike Masnick

Right after the EU Parliament somewhat emphatically rejected ACTA, there was a report saying that ACTA was pretty much dead in Mexico as well -- especially since the Congress there had been against ACTA since before it was "cool" to be against ACTA. However, the very next day, the Mexican government surprised an awful lot of people by signing ACTA anyway.

Of course, the agreement still needs ratification, and that seems like an uphill battle. However, the Mexican IP Office -- major backer of ACTA -- is now claiming that it believes that the Mexican legislature can be convinced to sign on. Of course, it would help if the Mexican IP Office was even the slightest bit intellectually honest. For example, in explaining its reasons for signing on, it points out that the EU signed on -- which is kind of funny coming so soon after the EU Parliament's wholesale rejection of ACTA. Seems like that would be a point worth mentioning, rather than implying that ACTA was going to be implemented in the EU. This move still has the US's fingerprints all over it. The US needed some sort of "win" for ACTA these days, and coming so soon after the US allowed Mexico to enter TPP negotiations, it's hard not to think that there was some horse trading going on here.

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Filed Under: acta, mexico, tpp

32 Comments

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Ron, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:17am

Bridge
".. it points out that the EU signed on ..."

So, if the EU Parliament jumped off a bidge, then Mexico's Legislature should as well?
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- Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:39am
  
  Re: Bridge
  Only if the EU Parliment doesn't actually jump off the bridge.
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- TtfnJohn (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:36pm
  
  Re: Bridge
  The EU pushed ACTA off the bridge their parliament didn't jump off it.
  
  There's a bit of a difference.
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- Jeremy2020 (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 1:42pm
  
  Re: Bridge
  Except the EU didn't sign on..
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- The eejit (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 2:05pm
  
  Re: Bridge
  Yes, so long as it's not the one of Sanity or Comptence.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:22am

I won't be surprised that when the treaty is rejected, Mexico will find itself outside negotiations once again.
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- arcan, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:29am
  
  Re:
  those negotiations would just screw them over in the long run. better they have nothing to do with tpp
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- TtfnJohn (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:39pm
  
  Re:
  The way Mexico and Canada are "inside" the negotiations is to sit quietly outside the door sipping gruel. I think they're allowed to say "can I have some more, sir" but even that's a stretch.
  
  The technical term for this arrangement is called "seats in the peanut gallery" where they can be completely ignored.
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  - Hephaestus (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 4:06pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I think the seat at the TPP table will only truly open up after they get ACTA ratified.
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- Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 1:27pm
  
  Re:
  They are crappy negotiations anyway.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:26am

There is only one relevant political person in Mexico and that is the president. All others will do exactly as instructed.
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- weneedhelp (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:43am
  
  Re:
  I promise you this, that, and the other thing.
  
  - President Gilligan
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:35am

how long we got to wait now to see it Mexico is run by the Mexican govt, the US govt or perhaps, the EU Commission? if they think they will get the chance to have input for the TPP by doing this, they are mistaken!
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- Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:44am
  
  Who runs Mexico [Re: ]
  ...wait now to see it
  
  Mexico is run by the...
  
  Narcotraficantes!
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  - Seegras (profile), 17 Jul 2012 @ 7:12am
    
    Re: Who runs Mexico [Re: ]
    leytraficantes US-americanes
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 10:58am

The US needed some sort of "win" for ACTA these days, and coming so soon after the US allowed Mexico to enter TPP negotiations, it's hard not to think that there was some horse trading going on here.

Yeah, I wonder what we gave away to get them to support this monstrosity.
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- Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 11:06am
  
  Re:
  Well, Texas has been annoying and California is broke so it is probably a toss up.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 11:48am
    
    Re: Re:
    I would nominate Arizona for the amount of crazy legislation getting suggested.
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    - ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:04pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      If only.
      
      Congrats, AZ! You're now Mexicans!
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      - MrWilson, 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:31pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Poetic justice.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 1:29pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Then they can stop anyone who does not look Mexican and demand their passports and papers.
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- Berenerd (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:09pm
  
  Re:
  We gave away the home world....
  
  (Am I wrong to quote B5 here?)
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  - Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:52pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Never.
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Loki, 16 Jul 2012 @ 11:16am

Massive public protests cause SOPA to collapse. Next day US government makes high profile seizure of MegaUpload.

Massive rejection of ACTA by EU Parliament. Next day high profile signatory of Mexico to ACTA.

In a day and age where information can spread to hundreds of millions of people in a matter of minutes, does the US government really think nobody is going to notice their attempts at bait and switch?
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 11:18am

considering Mexico's Congress had rejected ACTA, what right did the IP Office have to sign it anyway? how can them signing ACTA have any validity when not authorised to sign anything on Mexico's behalf?
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- Mason Wheeler, 16 Jul 2012 @ 11:24am
  
  Re:
  The same way as President Obama can illegally sign ACTA and get away with it.
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- TtfnJohn (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:42pm
  
  Re:
  I don't think they'd rejected it yet and the Mexican Congress is vastly more independent of the Mexican president that at least one poster here seems to think.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 16 Jul 2012 @ 3:31pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Good, it looks like the Mexican congress still doesn't like ACTA, so this was a waste of time for the US (if it really was it's idea. We can't be entirely sure)
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gorehound (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:31pm

I am not fooled by the things our US Government is doing.I would love to see both Democrats & Republicans out of Office.
And I would love to see Big Content go the way of the Dinosaurs.Adapt or go Extinct !
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Jay (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 12:54pm

Wait... Is the IP office in Mexico a part of the executive branch?
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- mematematica (profile), 16 Jul 2012 @ 3:36pm
  
  Re:
  Yes, it's called IMPI (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial) and it's an arm of the secretary of commerce, which its in turn dependent of the president. All of those are the executive branch.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jul 2012 @ 10:50am

The Mexican election is suspicious as well, with the winning canidate favoring U.S. corporations.

How'd that "war on drugs" work out? It seems we have entered another "war" on IP now. Stupid.
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