[Infowarrior] - ACTA is effectively dead

[Richard Forno]

May 4, 2012, 1:19 PM GMT

Kroes Throws in Towel on ACTA

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/05/04/kroes-throws-in-towel-on-acta/

ACTA is effectively dead, the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda admitted Friday. An official spokesman said the “political reality” was the fight was over.

Neelie Kroes, speaking at a conference in Berlin, told delegates: “We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest against rules which they see as constraining the openness and innovation of the Internet.

“This is a strong new political voice. And as a force for openness, I welcome it, even if I do not always agree with everything it says on every subject.

“We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA.”

Her spokesman agreed that while Ms. Kroes never said ACTA was dead, the “political reality” is that it is.

The move is a tacit recognition that the controversial treaty, which saw thousands take to the streets in protest, is no more. The agreement requires ratification by all parties as well as the European Parliament. That now looks highly unlikely.

Three of the four main parliamentary groups have already come out against ACTA. “Acta does not provide a good balance between the protection of intellectual property rights and fundamental freedoms,” group president Guy Verhofstadt has said. With support from the socialists and greens it was unlikely that the European Parliament would back the treaty.

Parliament’s largest group, the EPP, has not taken a position.

The European Commission agreed last month to refer the treaty to European Court of Justice to establish if it posed a danger to the rights of individual European citizens.

The controversial agreement, which opponents say was conducted behind closed doors, aimed to fight against counterfeiting at international level through greater co-ordination of anti-counterfeiting measures and tougher enforcement.

Updated at 4 May 12 @16:39: added comments on political bloc views and confirmation of the comments by the official spokesman.

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