Romania signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on January 26, 2012, in Tokyo, doesn’t mean its immediate entry into force, and the Ministry of Economy will organize several public consultations on the matter, said Ioana Muntean, the Romanian Government’s spokesperson.

“The public consultations will take place in Romania before the ratification of the agreement by the Parliament, although ACTA doesn’t require changes in the national legislation or in the community legislation,” said Ioana Muntean. If the consultations with the civil society and if during the debates in the Romanian Parliament it is concluded that this agreement shouldn’t be ratified, this will not happen, she added.

In the European Union, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has been negotiated by the European Commission, since the official start of negotiations in 2008. The decision on signing the agreement was adopted by the European Union in December 2011.

In Romania, the agreement will come into force after several stages have been completed. First comes the assent of the European Parliament this summer, then its adoption by the European Union Council, and finally ratification by the Romanian Parliament.

ACTA is a multilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement. Read more about it here. Romania and 21 other European states signed the agreement on January 26, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Sxc.hu)