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ACTA votes: The responses

By | Published on Thursday 5 July 2012

Copyright

Needless to say, ACTA’s critics were jubilant yesterday after securing such a resolute win in the European Parliament.

Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group told reporters: “This is a tremendous victory for the movement, for democracy and for every European citizen that has demanded that their rights be respected. ACTA must be abandoned. The Commission must drop its calls to try again. ORG would like to thank the thousands of activists from the UK that helped persuade MEPs to stand up for democracy”.

Meanwhile, Loz Kaye of the UK Pirate Party said: “The European Parliament vote is a triumph of democracy over special interests and shady back-room deals. This is a significant victory for digital rights, and it’s thanks to the tireless work of activists and grass roots organisations, including the Pirate Party worldwide. Without this opposition, our representatives would have waved this agreement through. It is now clear that it is becoming increasingly politically poisonous to be ‘anti-internet'”.

Speaking for the other side of the debate, Anne Bergman-Tahon of the Federation Of European Publishers told reporters: “ACTA is an important tool for promoting European jobs and intellectual property. Unfortunately the treaty got off on the wrong foot in the Parliament, and the real and significant merits of the treaty did not prevail”.

Dara MacGreevy, Anti-Piracy Director at the games industry’s Interactive Software Federation Of Europe said: “Contrary to many of the statements made, the individual’s fundamental rights are fully respected by ACTA, and we look forward to the Court Of Justice assessment in this regard”.

Speaking for the record industry, Frances Moore for the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry said: “We now await the ruling of the Court Of Justice of the EU, and urge the European Parliament to make effective intellectual property rights enforcement a top priority in our external trade policy”.

While Johannes Studinger from trade union grouping UNI MEI said: “Parliament says no to ACTA but stresses that ‘global coordination of IP protection is vital’. We respect their position. Indeed, in the global digital economy, sustainable growth of creative industries requires effective enforcement of intellectual property rights. Enforcement policies without a strong international commitment remain ineffective. We call on EU institutions to work together instead of opposing each other and to translate this mutual commitment into effective policies”.



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