The
European Commission said Wednesday it would present the controversial ACTA
treaty on copyright and counterfeiting law to the European Court of Justice, to
rule whether it violates the fundamental rights of Europeans.
The EU
Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to rule on the legality of
the controversial ACTA treaty which regulates counterfeiting, copyright and
Internet freedom and has been fiercly opposed around Europe.
EU Trade
Commissioner Karel De Gucht said the court could adjudge independently on
whether the treaty was "incompatible one way or another with the
fundamental rights and freedoms of the European Union."
"This
debate must be based upon facts, and not upon the misinformation and rumour that
has dominated social media sites and blogs in recent weeks," De Gucht told
a news conference in announcing the decision.
He said the
agreement "aims to raise global standards for intellectual property
rights" and said ACTA "will help protect jobs currently lost because
counterfeited, pirated good worth 200 billion euros ($264 billion) are
currently floating around."
Critics of
the ACTA treaty have argued that it restricts Internet freedom. Recent weeks
have seen mass demonstrations around Europe against the treaty, which has
already been agreed to at the EU level but must still be ratified by individual
member states.
Germany has
refused, for now, to sign the international online anti-piracy treaty. The
German government had already agreed in principle, but appears to be wavering
in the face of public protest. Justice Minister Sabine
Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has suggested that the government was not prepared
to give the treaty the green light. The United States, Japan and Canada are
also among signatories.
dfm/ai (AFP, Reuters)
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