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his will be far from the first time that we mention the ACTA, which is a wish list from Hollywood et al to be passed as law [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. According to this update from Glyn Moody, they are indeed above the law and this is troubling for so many reasons.

The extremely pernicious Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) continues to move forward. Here's what the anachronistic back-slapping club known as the G8 has to say on the subject:

We encourage the acceleration of negotiations to establish a new international legal framework, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and seek to complete the negotiation by the end of this year.

Remember, this is an agreement that has been drawn up behind closed doors, with input from the industries that depend on intellectual monopolies, and zero input from the rest of us. Democracy? Who needs it?

The effect on software patents is very much related to the scrupulous process seen above. Alcatel-Lucent/Microsoft are still crossing swords over this issue. The case involves the legitimacy of software patents as a whole [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

Alcatel-Lucent appeals loss of $1.5 billion award

Appeals court arguments in a battle over MP3 digital music patents between Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) focused Monday on a joint development pact struck nearly two decade earlier.

What's at stake here is rather significant. With ACTA passing through as though diplomats are well-greased tubes, there's little or no chance of defeating the monopolies at a litigious level. The system is broken, sadly enough.

Be sure to read the ACTA [PDF] if you haven't. It's a dreadful document that only reached the public diue to a leak (WikiLeaks). ⬆