Answer given by Mr De Gucht on behalf of the Commission
4.12.2013
The Commission reassures the Honourable Member that the intellectual property rights chapter of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) only includes provisions fully aligned with the current EU legal framework and in particular with the enforcement of the intellectual property rights Directive[1] and the e-commerce Directive[2].
The chapter on intellectual property in the EU-Singapore FTA differs substantially from ACTA. For instance, the EU-Singapore FTA does not contain criminal provisions for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) infringements. Also, the provisions relating to the Internet are very different. In particular, the most controversial provisions in that respect (ACTA Articles 27.3 and 27.4) are not present in the FTA. In fact, the text is largely inspired by the e-commerce Directive including all its safeguards.
With regard to the provision on damages, paragraph 2 of Article 11.44 of the EU-Singapore FTA only illustrates a wide range of optional methods for a judge to calculate an indemnity. This paragraph however has to be read with the first paragraph, which establishes the mandatory principle that such indemnity must be adequate to compensate the injury suffered. This ensures that in line with the EU legal framework, there will be no punitive damages in the EU.
Finally, the Commission confirms that it fully recognises and respects Parliament’s vote regarding ACTA.
- [1] Directive 2004/48/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, OJ L 157, 30.4.2004.
- [2] Directive 2000/31/EC of Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the internal market (‘Directive on electronic commerce’), OJ L 178, 17.7.2000.
OJ C 221, 11/07/2014