Earlier this week, the Obama White House decided that you and I don’t have a right (or need) to know the details of the future of intellectual property in the United States (or the broader world) when they declared the contents of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement a “National Security” secret. Shockingly, it turns out that the national security threat is only posed by average citizens and consumers. That fact becomes clear when you take a look at the list of “cleared advisors“, the members of the 27 United States Trade Representative (USTR) advisory boards.
The list is a veritable who’s who of corporate lobbyists and anti-consumer groups, including the RIAA, MPAA, Monsanto, Citigroup, Wal-Mart and AIG. You know, some of the same people that brought you the financial meltdown. Clearly, the people we want deciding intellectual property policy for the future. As you read this list, remember that President Obama feels that these individuals are more trustworthy than you are, that their guidance is more critical to the republic than any input you might provide through your limited access via your representatives and the Freedom of Information Act. As the poet De la Rocha put it, “Land of the free? Whoever told you that is your enemy!”
Read on for a partial list, courtesy of Knowledge Ecology International.
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