Yes, activism works: European Parliament votes down ACTA by wide marginMadison Ruppert, Contributor This comes after the treaty was approved by every single one of the 27 EU heads of government in December 2011, but clearly the formal approval process wasnt nearly as easy. Unfortunately, the United States already signed ACTA in October 2011, which has already sparked claims from lobbyists that the rejection of the agreement make the EU be weakened in free trade negotiations with the United States, Canada and emerging markets that are relative newcomers to intellectual property, according to Reuters. Essentially this means that other countries may continue to participate in ACTA even though the entire group of nations making up the EU is backing out of the same agreement they participated in negotiating. Thankfully the false claims that ACTA was needed to standardize the different national laws that protect the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion goods and other products that often fall victim to piracy and intellectual property theft, were not able to trump the truth. In reality, ACTA would enable, if not mandate, widespread internet surveillance, censorship, and potentially allow for Monsanto to actually come after farmers in other countries for saving seeds, an offense that can actually result in up to $3 million in damages, as I previously reported. These nations include Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States. Yet some are still claiming victory already, such as Scottish Member of European Parliament David Martin. No emergency surgery, no transplant, no long period of recuperation is going to save ACTA, said Martin. Its time to give it its last rites. Its time to allow its friends to mourn and for the rest of us to get on with our lives, he added. Furthermore, writing for the Associated Press, Don Melvin stated: The failure to ratify the treaty is a humiliation for the European Union, which was one of the prime movers in the multi-year effort to negotiate the agreement. Unfortunately some are not going to roll over as easily as Martin would obviously like. One such individual is Karel De Gucht, the EUs Trade Commissioner. Its clear that the question of protecting intellectual property does need to be addressed on a global scale for business, the creative industries, whether in Europe or our partner countries, De Gucht said. De Gucht stated that the European Parliaments clear decision will in no way change his plan to bring ACTA to the highest court in Europe the Court of Justice in order to determine if in the current form it would infringe on the rights of Europeans. With the rejection of ACTA, the need to protect the backbone of Europes economy across the globe: our innovation, our creativity, our ideas our intellectual property does not disappear, said De Gucht, indicating that he would decide what his next steps would be after the opinion from the European court comes down. Some are seeing major future consequences, such as Ilias Konteas, Senior Adviser at Business Europe, a massive European lobbyist group representing 20 million companies across 35 nations. When the EU talks to China about intellectual property rights, they (China) willrefer to the parliaments rejection (of ACTA), Konteas claimed. I am afraid the unintended consequences have not been considered by members of the European Parliament. Although, De Gucht made similar claims like, A vote against ACTA will be a setback for the protection of our intellectual property rights around the world. I personally doubt that any of these grim predictions will come to pass since file sharing really isnt this monumental, megalithic and urgent problem they make it out to be. The reality of increasingly open, legitimized, and legalized constant surveillance and internet censorship seem like much more important issues to me. That being said, I find it quite exciting that some leaders, somewhere, are actually paying attention when the people get together and criticize government policies they do not agree with. It is not only our right, but it is our duty to constantly scrutinize government activities and speak up when we see something out of place. Thankfully at least one group of leaders somewhere in the world is taking a stand, now we just have to see if individuals in other nations will follow suit. Did I forget anything or miss any errors? Would you like to make me aware of a story or subject to cover? Or perhaps you want to bring your writing to a wider audience? Feel free to contact me at admin@EndtheLie.com with your concerns, tips, questions, original writings, insults or just about anything that may strike your fancy. Please support our work and help us start to pay contributors by doing your shopping through our Amazon link or check out some must-have products at our store. This article first appeared at End the Lie. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 