European Parliament rejects ACTA!
And how. From Michael Geist (he of the ACTA explanation video):
This morning, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly against the agreement, effectively killing ACTA within the EU. The vote was 478 against, 39 in favour, with 165 abstentions. This is a remarkable development that was virtually unthinkable even a year ago. Much credit goes to the thousands of Europeans who spoke out against ACTA and to the Members of the European Parliament who withstood enormous political pressure to vote against the deal.
The European developments have had a ripple effect, with the recent Australian parliamentary committee recommendation to delay ACTA ratification and the mounting opposition around the world. ACTA is not yet dead - it may still eke out the necessary six ratifications in a year or two for it to take effect - but it is badly damaged and will seemingly never achieve the goals of its supporters as a model for other countries to adopt and to emerge as a new global standard for IP enforcement. That said, ACTA supporters will not take today's decision as the final verdict. In the coming weeks and months, we can expect new efforts to revive the agreement within Europe and to find alternative means to implement its provisions. That suggests the fight will continue, but for today, it is worth celebrating how the seemingly impossible - stopping a one-sided, secretly negotiated global IP agreement - became possible.
Thank you to everyone who helped mail MPs or spread the word over the past half year. It was an incredibly long shot only months ago, but we did it. Drinks and nibbles for all.
People are already arguing that the next fronts have to be intellectual property reform and open access in scientific publications. Bring it on.
ETA: Via Reddit, a picture taken in the European Parliament today:
This entry was originally posted at http://unjapanologist.dreamwidth.org/56506.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
This morning, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly against the agreement, effectively killing ACTA within the EU. The vote was 478 against, 39 in favour, with 165 abstentions. This is a remarkable development that was virtually unthinkable even a year ago. Much credit goes to the thousands of Europeans who spoke out against ACTA and to the Members of the European Parliament who withstood enormous political pressure to vote against the deal.
The European developments have had a ripple effect, with the recent Australian parliamentary committee recommendation to delay ACTA ratification and the mounting opposition around the world. ACTA is not yet dead - it may still eke out the necessary six ratifications in a year or two for it to take effect - but it is badly damaged and will seemingly never achieve the goals of its supporters as a model for other countries to adopt and to emerge as a new global standard for IP enforcement. That said, ACTA supporters will not take today's decision as the final verdict. In the coming weeks and months, we can expect new efforts to revive the agreement within Europe and to find alternative means to implement its provisions. That suggests the fight will continue, but for today, it is worth celebrating how the seemingly impossible - stopping a one-sided, secretly negotiated global IP agreement - became possible.
Thank you to everyone who helped mail MPs or spread the word over the past half year. It was an incredibly long shot only months ago, but we did it. Drinks and nibbles for all.
People are already arguing that the next fronts have to be intellectual property reform and open access in scientific publications. Bring it on.
ETA: Via Reddit, a picture taken in the European Parliament today:
This entry was originally posted at http://unjapanologist.dreamwidth.org/56506.html. Please comment there using OpenID.