After ACTA: ideas on how best to protect EU intellectual property rights abroad
The need to protect EU intellectual property abroad will be stressed by MEPs in a debate on Monday and resolution to be voted on Tuesday. The ideas that MEPs table will take account of the lessons learned from Parliament’s rejection of the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade agreement (ACTA) three years ago. In a separate debate and resolution, MEPs are likely to call for intra-EU rules to combat online breaches of intellectual property rights.
The EU’s competitiveness depends on creativity and innovation, but it has only limited means to protect its innovators against counterfeiting and other intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements in third country markets, says the draft resolution.
MEPs admit that balancing the rights of rights holders, economic operators and end users is "extremely complex" and stress that any new legislative proposals should consider the specific features of digital markets and the need to ensure affordable access to generic drugs.
The resolution is a response to the EU Commission’s strategy to ensure that IPRs are protected and enforced in third countries, given that the ACTA deal, which its backers claimed would serve this purpose, was rejected by Parliament in 2012. MEPs insist on the need for an informed public debate on how to best protect and enforce IPRs.
In a separate non-legislative resolution, on enforcing IPRs within the EU, MEPs are likely to call for a strategy to combat IPR infringements that is tailored to the online environment.
Background: IPR infringements
In 2013 EU customs authorities confiscated almost 36 million items thought to be counterfeit or to infringe IPRs, worth over €760 million. Medicines accounted for 10 % of this total.
The EU’s IP-intensive industries account for 39% of total economic activity (worth €4.7 trillion a yeary) and about 56 million jobs (about 26% of the total).
Procedure: Non-legislative resolutions
2014/2206(INI) - Protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in third countries
2014/2151(INI) - EU action plan
Debate: Monday, 8 June
Vote: Tuesday, 9 June
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