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= Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive 2 =
Question: Can somebody explain in a comprehensive way what IPRED is as a start of this page?

Reinier Bakels made a presentation for SANE.

= European Commission exceeds competence with criminal measures on violations of "intellectual property" rights =

'''IPRED2: Makes violations of "intellectual property rights", such as patents, a crime. Adolescents that share files on the internet can be treated as organised criminals.'''

It is the first time Brussels interferes with criminal measures, without the member states having a veto. Should we want a Union with a democratic deficit to write our criminal laws? Ipred.org says no. A Union that lacks legitimacy, writing criminal laws - it is the start of oppression.
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In 2004 the Council and European Parliament adopted an Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED). To make fast adoption possible (before 10 new members joined the EU), criminal penalties were taken out. Now these criminal penalties are back in 2 new European Commission proposals. And the answer is certainly no, if the Commission exceeds its competence. As minister Donner (NL) [http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredDonner060428En pointed out], harmonisation of penalties should only be done if there is a real EU interest. The [http://www.ipred.org/Hilty only legal ground] for a directive like this, a harmonisation of criminal measures, is a distortion of trade, i.e, if the non-harmonised state leads to a competitive advantage of member states having lower penalties.
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= IPRED 2 = In 10 of the EU's 25 countries patent infringement is a crime. Does the fact that it is not a crime in all 25 countries lead to distortion in trade, does it give the countries in which it is not a crime a competitive advantage? Nobody has ever claimed such a thing. There is no legal ground for including patent infringement in this directive. There are 10 more IP rights for which this question has to be answered.

If the competence issue is solved for some of the IP rights, then the 4 requirements of a crime (see below) have to be met in order to meet the subsidiarity and proportionality requirements. The Commission proposal does not meet them.

Without the competence, subsidiarity and proportionality requirements met, the directive is illegal, has to be rejected.

As far as many companies are concerned, patents have to go out - a political reason for rejection.

Should we want a Union with a democratic deficit to write our criminal laws? - a political reason for rejection.

Do we want our adolescents that share files on the internet to be treated as organised criminals? - yet an other reason for rejection.

The Commission made a severe faute passe in a sensitive field. The proposal should meet a flat rejection in first reading in the European Parliament.


In April 2006 the European Commission [http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/532&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en announced the directive.]

Minister Donner (NL) [http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredDonner060428En was not pleased.]

[http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st08/st08866.en06.pdf The new text] (Change "en" twice in the link for translations)


[http://www.ipred.org/history History]

== Main points ==


== Scope ==

Patents have to be taken out. [http://wiki.ffii.org/Ipred2GovLtrsEn FFII:] "It is in practice impossible to write and sell software products without certainty that your product does not violate one of the 65,000 software or business method patents granted by the European Patent Office." [http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredEp051122En Others] protested criminalisation of patent infringement too.

No criminalising of inciting and abetting beyond general rules that exist in some countries making it a crime to incite to a crime
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== No solution for piracy == == Elements of a crime ==

Reto M. Hilty, Managing Director, Max Planck Institute for IP, Professor of Law [http://www.ipred.org/Hilty said:]

"As a matter of fact, a harmonisation of IP criminal statutes can be justified from the point of view of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality only in connection with actions by which the following elements of a crime are fulfilled cumulatively:

 - Identity of the exploited object of protection (the good takes on characteristic elements of a protected product or label in a targeted and unmodified fashion – construction, assembly, etc.)

 - Commercial activity with an intention to earn a profit

 - Potential to cause considerable damage

 - Intent or contingent intent (dolus eventualis)"

Note these are the minimal elements. They are better defined more sharp to prevent accidents. The Commission proposal does not even meet the minimal elements. Since the stated aim of the directive is to combat "piracy", the fourth requirement should be "criminal intention", not "Intent or contingent intent".

== == ==
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[http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st08/st08866.en06.pdf The new text] (Change "en" twice in the link for translations)
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== Introduction ==
 
In order to fight piracy, IPRED 2 makes all commercial violations of “intellectual property" rights a crime. All commercial violations. But not all commercial violations of “intellectual property” rights are piracy. Trademark and patent infringements are always commercial infringements, but by no means always piracy. This criminalisation of acts by commercial organisations not being pirates is very serious. The principal issue with IPRED 2 is that it is confusing piracy and commercial infringement. If fighting piracy is the objective, piracy and counterfeiting are to be criminalised. And not every commercial violation of “intellectual property” rights.
 
Take copyright. The question whether something is an “independent recreation” or a “violation of copyright” is a subtle question. Questions like these should be handled in civil courts, not in criminal courts. For reasons of human rights, criminal laws require precise definitions. And criminal law should be the ultimum remedium.
 
IPRED 2 covers 11 “intellectual property” rights. We have trade mark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. The other 9 “intellectual property” rights shouldn't be in IPRED 2.
 
Trade mark counterfeiting and copyright piracy are already forbidden in European countries. On a world-wide scale, the TRIPS treaty sees to that. The Commission made no assessment of the current situation. Are there any real problems today due to unintended legal limitations? How would the directive work out in various criminal law systems?

Prison sentences go up more than a 100 times in some cases. IPRED 2 is excessive and distorts carefully balanced national procedural law systems.

Patent law definitions are unclear and drifting. In some sectors, like the software industry, it is impossible not to violate patents. Microsoft has been violating many patents, and had to pay huge damages. But do we really want to see Bill Gates in prison?
[http://tinyurl.com/9djqm EU docs]
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[http://www.ipred.org/2005 the 2005 proposals]

2005 : COM(2005)276 final / 2005/0127(COD) / 2005/0128(CNS)
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[http://www.ipred.org/Hilty Hilty:] 4 basic elements
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[http://www.ipred.org/en More] [http://wiki.ffii.org/Ipred2GovLtrsEn FFII: Call on the 25 Governments to remove criminal sanctions in case of patent infringement]
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------------------------------------ [http://wiki.ffii.org/JuriHearing060131En Hearing 31st Jan. 2006]
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[http://www.ffii.org/~ante/FFII-ipred051127.pdf FFII letter Nov 27th]
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COM(2005)276 final

2005/0127(COD)

2005/0128(CNS)

[http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredEp051122En European Parliament hearing 22 November 2005]
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[http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0276en01.pdf 2005 Commission proposal]
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[http://tinyurl.com/9djqm EU docs]
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[http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0276en01.pdf Commission proposal] [http://www.aippi.org/reports/resolutions/Q169_E.pdf AIPPI paper]
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[http://www.ipred.org/ipred1 IPRED 1] [http://www.ipred.org/ipred1 IPRED 1] (2004)
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Interesting starting points:
 * RecentChanges: see where people are currently working
 * WikiSandBox: feel free to change this page and experiment with editing
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 * SiteNavigation: get an overview over this site and what it contains
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[http://europa.eu.int/servlet/portail/RenderServlet?search=DocNumber&lg=en&nb_docs=25&domain=Legislation&coll=&in_force=NO&an_doc=2003&nu_doc=1383&type_doc=Regulation Customs regulation]
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== How to use this site ==

Note: To prevent spammers from spamming the wiki, you need be logged in to edit pages. If you don't have an account yet, just go to "Login" and create an account.

A Wiki is a collaborative site, anyone can contribute and share:
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 * Create a link to another page with joined capitalized words (like WikiSandBox) or with {{{["quoted words in brackets"]}}}
 * Search for page titles or text within pages using the search box at the top of any page
 * See HelpForBeginners to get you going, HelpContents for all help pages.

To learn more about what a WikiWikiWeb is, read about MoinMoin:WhyWikiWorks and the MoinMoin:WikiNature. Also, consult the MoinMoin:WikiWikiWebFaq.

This wiki is powered by MoinMoin.
-------------------------------

Question: Can somebody explain in a comprehensive way what IPRED is as a start of this page?

Reinier Bakels made a presentation for SANE.

European Commission exceeds competence with criminal measures on violations of "intellectual property" rights

IPRED2: Makes violations of "intellectual property rights", such as patents, a crime. Adolescents that share files on the internet can be treated as organised criminals.

It is the first time Brussels interferes with criminal measures, without the member states having a veto. Should we want a Union with a democratic deficit to write our criminal laws? Ipred.org says no. A Union that lacks legitimacy, writing criminal laws - it is the start of oppression.

And the answer is certainly no, if the Commission exceeds its competence. As minister Donner (NL) [http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredDonner060428En pointed out], harmonisation of penalties should only be done if there is a real EU interest. The [http://www.ipred.org/Hilty only legal ground] for a directive like this, a harmonisation of criminal measures, is a distortion of trade, i.e, if the non-harmonised state leads to a competitive advantage of member states having lower penalties.

In 10 of the EU's 25 countries patent infringement is a crime. Does the fact that it is not a crime in all 25 countries lead to distortion in trade, does it give the countries in which it is not a crime a competitive advantage? Nobody has ever claimed such a thing. There is no legal ground for including patent infringement in this directive. There are 10 more IP rights for which this question has to be answered.

If the competence issue is solved for some of the IP rights, then the 4 requirements of a crime (see below) have to be met in order to meet the subsidiarity and proportionality requirements. The Commission proposal does not meet them.

Without the competence, subsidiarity and proportionality requirements met, the directive is illegal, has to be rejected.

As far as many companies are concerned, patents have to go out - a political reason for rejection.

Should we want a Union with a democratic deficit to write our criminal laws? - a political reason for rejection.

Do we want our adolescents that share files on the internet to be treated as organised criminals? - yet an other reason for rejection.

The Commission made a severe faute passe in a sensitive field. The proposal should meet a flat rejection in first reading in the European Parliament.

In April 2006 the European Commission [http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/532&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en announced the directive.]

Minister Donner (NL) [http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredDonner060428En was not pleased.]

[http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st08/st08866.en06.pdf The new text] (Change "en" twice in the link for translations)

[http://www.ipred.org/history History]

Main points

Scope

Patents have to be taken out. [http://wiki.ffii.org/Ipred2GovLtrsEn FFII:] "It is in practice impossible to write and sell software products without certainty that your product does not violate one of the 65,000 software or business method patents granted by the European Patent Office." [http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredEp051122En Others] protested criminalisation of patent infringement too.

No criminalising of inciting and abetting beyond general rules that exist in some countries making it a crime to incite to a crime

Elements of a crime

Reto M. Hilty, Managing Director, Max Planck Institute for IP, Professor of Law [http://www.ipred.org/Hilty said:]

"As a matter of fact, a harmonisation of IP criminal statutes can be justified from the point of view of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality only in connection with actions by which the following elements of a crime are fulfilled cumulatively:

  • - Identity of the exploited object of protection (the good takes on characteristic elements of a protected product or label in a targeted and unmodified fashion – construction, assembly, etc.) - Commercial activity with an intention to earn a profit - Potential to cause considerable damage - Intent or contingent intent (dolus eventualis)"

Note these are the minimal elements. They are better defined more sharp to prevent accidents. The Commission proposal does not even meet the minimal elements. Since the stated aim of the directive is to combat "piracy", the fourth requirement should be "criminal intention", not "Intent or contingent intent".

==

[http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st08/st08866.en06.pdf The new text] (Change "en" twice in the link for translations)

[http://tinyurl.com/9djqm EU docs]

[http://www.ipred.org/2005 the 2005 proposals]

2005 : COM(2005)276 final / 2005/0127(COD) / 2005/0128(CNS)

[http://www.ipred.org/Hilty Hilty:] 4 basic elements

[http://wiki.ffii.org/Ipred2GovLtrsEn FFII: Call on the 25 Governments to remove criminal sanctions in case of patent infringement]

[http://wiki.ffii.org/JuriHearing060131En Hearing 31st Jan. 2006]

[http://www.ffii.org/~ante/FFII-ipred051127.pdf FFII letter Nov 27th]

[http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredEp051122En European Parliament hearing 22 November 2005]

[http://www.ipred.org/nl NL: Gevangenisstraf voor octrooiinbreuk]

[http://wiki.ffii.org/Ipred2En FFII]

[http://plone.ffii.org/Members/coordinator/FFII%20UK%20IPRED2%20consultation.pdf/download FFIII-UK]

[http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/ipred2/ipred2.en.html FSFE]

[http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/com2005_0276en01.pdf 2005 Commission proposal]

[http://www.aippi.org/reports/resolutions/Q169_E.pdf AIPPI paper]


[http://www.ipred.org/ipred1 IPRED 1] (2004)


[http://europa.eu.int/servlet/portail/RenderServlet?search=DocNumber&lg=en&nb_docs=25&domain=Legislation&coll=&in_force=NO&an_doc=2003&nu_doc=1383&type_doc=Regulation Customs regulation]


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