European Commission ACTA Could See DRM Infringers as Criminals

The European Commission, which operates the general running of the European Union, has recently drafted its Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

As well as various other measures, there are elements in the document which would make digital rights management (DRM) systems enforceable under law. This could result in the people who circumvent DRM facing criminal charges and would further the power of content companies to control their products.

The act (available here in .pdf) has the backing of the major copyright industry lobbyists under the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which includes the RIAA, and the MPAA. The act would give increased power to content companies who would be able to  ensure “criminal procedures and penalties [are] applied at least in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright’. They would also be able to ‘œissue an interlocutory injunction intended to prevent any imminent infringement of an intellectual property right’; essentially preventing a copyright infringement that could potentially occur, but without it actually having to.

The act, which has been shrouded in secrecy, was revealed after the European Parliament threatened to take the European Commission to court for not revealing the details. The basic structure of the European Union dictates that the Commission drafts laws which then must be sent to the Parliament for scrutiny. The Parliament works to represent constituents in Europe and would examine the act to ensure it’s fair and reasonable, but if the Commission doesn’t give the act to Parliament, then that scrutiny cannot take place.

Usually, formation of policy would be more public, but the ACTA has been drafted without any on-going scrutiny.  The Treaty of Lisbon, which was passed in 2007, was designed to remodel this system and ensure that the Parliament had more of a look in, so it’s pretty startling that the EP has had to threaten court to make the EC hand over this document. The Parliament is the only body that represents the people, so it having a say in matters is vitally important.

Examining the document there’s also a section which aims to ‘œprovide limitation on the [liability of] [scope of civil remedies available against] on-line service provider[s] for infringing activities’, which roughly translates to making service providers less culpable in copyright infringement cases, meaning that ISPs could more easily give information as to who the infringer is.

Basically, the ACTA bill is limiting civil liberties and making is easier for content companies to prosecute individuals. Whether or not this gets through the European Parliament is based on how your MEPs vote and how much pressure the huge lobbying groups place upon them. If this is passed however, the implications are pretty gigantic, so keep an eye on how this unfolds.

Via: MCV