EU refers anti-online piracy pact to court

Bulgaria's government formally decided Wednesday to end all consultation and ratification procedures on the controversial ACTA pact against online piracy and counterfeiting, its press office said."With today's decision the government ends definitively the procedure for ratifying the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement," it said.Bulgaria will also refrain from joining a European Commission request to the European Court of Justice for a legal opinion on ACTA, the government added.

Last summer, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, more popularly known as ACTA, was voted down by the EU Parliament. The treaty, which was meant to streamline and standardize intellectual property laws across global jurisdictions was widely fought against by activists and protestors as an invasion of privacy and freedoms of speech. The protests ended with thousands of people in the streets and the EU Parliament emphatically rejecting the treaty. It was widely thought that the treaty was dead in the water.

The European parliament massively rejected a controversial global pact to battle counterfeiting and online piracy Wednesday, quashing any possibility of EU ratification.Twenty-two of the 27 EU states as well as other countries, including the United States and Japan, signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in January but the treaty has yet to be ratified anywhere amid protests that it would curtail Internet freedom.

A controversial global pact to battle counterfeiting and online piracy was dealt a new setback Thursday as a key European Parliament panel rejected the deal.The international trade committee voted 19-12 against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), recommending that the full European Parliament bury the international pact next month.Several European governments and lawmakers have voiced reservations about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) while protesters have marched against it in some cities, voicing fears it would curtail Internet freedoms.

More than 3,000 Bulgarians rallied in Sofia, kicking off a series of European protests on Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.Rallies were also beginning to get under way elsewhere across Europe against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which was negotiated between the 27-nation European Union and 10 other countries.

A controversial international accord billed as a way to beat online piracy has sparked a fightback led by Internet users in ex-communist countries who say the region's past underlines the need to defend freedom.An international day of rallies against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been scheduled for Saturday.For weeks, the hub of discontent has been Poland, whose centre-right government last week pledged to freeze the ratification process after a storm of protest.

A controversial global pact to battle counterfeiting and online piracy faced a new setback on Thursday as the European Parliament's pointman on the legislation urged fellow lawmakers to reject it.Several European governments and lawmakers have voiced reservations about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) while protesters have marched against it in some cities, voicing fears that it may curtail Internet freedoms.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas said Monday his country would freeze plans to ratify a controversial international online anti-piracy accord after mounting off-and-online protests."The cabinet cannot accept a situation in which the bedrock of liberty and free access to information is endangered," Necas was quoted as saying by the Czech news agency CTK.He said the government would undertake a thorough review of the "real world" impact of ratifying the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).