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Hollywood Pushing EU To Sign ACTA Before It Has A Chance To Study The Legal Implications
from the but-of-course... dept
Michael Geist points us to the news that a bunch of lobbyists (mostly driven by Hollywood interests, it appears) are pressuring the European Parliament to just sign ACTA already. It appears that they're realizing that there's growing opposition to ACTA and serious concerns by some in the Parliament about just how much of an impact ACTA will have, and (most importantly) whether or not ACTA itself conforms with European law. The letter takes the usual IP bully tact of making totally ridiculous claims, such as saying that not signing it now would mean that it would "weaken the position of the EU viv-a-vis its international trading partners."
That, of course, makes absolutely no sense. Making sure a treaty (and yes, the Europeans, unlike the Americans, are willing to admit that it's a treaty) does not violate consumer rights or other laws seems like a prudent step to take. It seems odd that Hollywood lobbyists could possibly be against that. The only comprehensible reason to be against it is if you know that ACTA won't actually pass muster on review. Separately, I'm wondering just how it will weaken the EU's position with trading partners? Who exactly? Who's going to cut back on trading with the EU because it wants to make sure of the impact of ACTA? No one. Hopefully, most in the EU Parliament got a good chuckle out of this and moved on...
That, of course, makes absolutely no sense. Making sure a treaty (and yes, the Europeans, unlike the Americans, are willing to admit that it's a treaty) does not violate consumer rights or other laws seems like a prudent step to take. It seems odd that Hollywood lobbyists could possibly be against that. The only comprehensible reason to be against it is if you know that ACTA won't actually pass muster on review. Separately, I'm wondering just how it will weaken the EU's position with trading partners? Who exactly? Who's going to cut back on trading with the EU because it wants to make sure of the impact of ACTA? No one. Hopefully, most in the EU Parliament got a good chuckle out of this and moved on...
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Hopefully they see through the lobbyists and actually see the companies backing them.
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Yes most, everyone except the Germans
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Uh huh. I can just see individual nations of the world now throwing up their hands.
"They won't sign ACTA? Pshhh! let's not trade with that entire fucking continent!"
What a joke....
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You can see what the whole problem with ACTA is from the start. It's only the IP companies that benefit from the treaty and no one else. This is part of the reason it was so secret in the forming. It was such a stinker of a treaty that anyone who had the public's interest in mind not only wasn't invited but were not to be allowed any input at all.
I can only hope the EU along with the rest fail to agree to sign it.
At some point, the presidential executive powers will come to a screeching halt when the laws in the US need to be modified to fit this porker.
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BTW, vote for Ron Paul.
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Then they're idiots. Between recent events, the reemerging economy, and the general statistics with incumbent politicians, there's no percentage in planning for Obama not to get reelected.
Disclaimer: I'm not much of an Obama supporter.
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Conspiracy theory of the day
No one publicly, I suppose. But perhaps this missive wasn't meant to be taken at face value. Perhaps there is secret, even illegal, trading going on, which Hollywood (on whoever's behalf) is obliquely threatening to have stopped.
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Re: Conspiracy theory of the day
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