Lucy Sherriff
The
Register
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The European Parliament's committee for legal affairs meets
today to vote on proposals for criminal penalties to be imposed
on those who infringe intellectual property (IP) rights.
The vote today will determine whether or not a person who downloads
a single unlicensed track of music could be sent to jail.
The scope of the directive has been the subject of much debate,
with an array of amendments being tabled to either limit or broaden
the remit of the proposed legislation. The level of penalties set
out has also caused division between groups of MEPs.
For example, while the proposal refers to all kinds of IP rights,
some MEPs want patents specifically excluded from the directive,
arguing that most European states have sufficient civil remedies
for such infringements.
Others go even further and argue that the directive should be
restricted to cover only copyright and trademark violations, leaving
aside database rights, geographical indications, and trade names.
The more liberal MEPs have also called for copies made for personal
use to be specifically excluded. Those calling for harsher penalties
for infringers, including Dutch MEP Toine Manders, say they want
personal copies included in the directive, up to and including
downloaded files.
Manders and his supporters also want penalties for infringement
to include the seizure and destruction of all counterfeit material,
and all equipment used to carry out the infringement.
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