The
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) suffered another setback as an EU
Parliament committee voted against the deal. While the agreement still has
supporters, its detractors seem to be winning the upper hand.
Politicians
only recognized how explosive ACTA was when thousands of Europeans took to the
streets in protest. Several countries, Germany included, intend to ratify the
treaty.
In Germany,
Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger pointed out that there were
"open questions" to address before enacting the agreement. After
Thursday's vote in the EU Parliament's International Trade Committee, in which
19 parliamentarians opposed the agreement and 12 voted in favor, the same is
happening in Brussels.
The vote
brought ACTA a step closer to an early death as the committee recommended the
EU Parliament reject the deal at a vote in July. The EU Commission has also
already submitted a request to the European Court of Justice regarding the
treaty's compatible with EU law.
An
uncomfortable decision
ACTA, which
has been negotiated over the last three years, can only go into effect if
ratified by all EU member countries and approved by the European Parliament.
National
governments have been restrained and largely left the decision on a
controversial issue to be made in Brussels. But they have supported and watched
the agreement closely over the years, Social Democratic Member of the European
Parliament Bernd Lange told DW.
 |
| There have been several demonstrations against ACTA in Europe |
"Now
that civil society has discussed it, they say it is time for Europe to
decide," he said while noting that some countries had pushed for the
agreement.
ACTA's aim
was to improve the protection of intellectual property by tightening customs
controls to combat counterfeit goods from Asia, and to fight illegal
downloading of music and videos.
Internet
activists fear limitations
ACTA was
drafted by countries most vulnerable to product piracy and violations of
intellectual property rights, including members of EU, as well as Australia,
Canada, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and
Switzerland.
These are
the countries that would benefit the most from ACTA. For example, Europe loses
8 billion euros ($10 billion) to product piracy, according to the EU Communion.
Despite countries agreeing on preventing counterfeit products, there is
disagreement over the treaty's details and how the wording is interpreted.
Internet
users have expressed fear that Internet service providers will monitor online
activity and charge damages to right violators. Green Party MEP Jan-Philipp
Albreacht opposed the treaty from the onset.
"Measures
that are proposed for copyright are clearly oppressive to Internet users,"
Albrecht told DW.
He said he
believes providers that violate copyright law ought to be pursued more
aggressively than Internet users.
 |
| People feel that rights will be infringed on the Internet via data monitoring |
Developing
countries at a disadvantage
Another
potential problem was that not every country was involved in the formulation of
the trade agreement, Albrecht said.
"If
you are drafting an agreement to combat piracy, every country needs to be
involved, especially developing and emerging countries, because such violations
tend to take place there," he said.
Also,
developing countries have legitimate interests related to technology or generic
exceptions, Albrecht added. Some aid agencies fear ACTA could impede trade in
generic drugs, which tend to be cheaper than the originals. The medicines are essential
to fighting diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis in poor countries.
But the
agreement does still have supporters.
"ACTA
is a milestone in the fight against product piracy," Christian Democrats
MEP Daniel Caspary wrote in a statement on his website.
 |
| People fear that the development of generic drugs will be impeded by ACTA |
He said he
believes developed countries and emerging countries are coming together to
combat counterfeit products and brands. But not everyone is on board - the
treaty has a limited number of signatories.
Back to the
drawing board?
If the EU
Parliament goes against its committee's recommendation and approves ACTA, the
EU Council and the Council of Ministers would enact the agreement into law. If
the EU parliamentarians do not endorse ACTA, it will be taken back to the
drawing board.
Author: Ralf Bosen / csc
Editor: Sean Sinico
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