The fight against software piracy has been bolstered by the European Parliament, which has agreed on an Enforcement Directive to combat piracy in the European Union (EU).

MEPs voted 330-151 in favour of a proposed directive protecting intellectual property rights. It was the first reading, which means the Parliament has reached an informal agreement with the Council of Ministers.

The directive is set to be adopted before the European elections in June.

Under the directive, enforcement measures would be applied only to breaches of the law on a commercial scale; individuals acting in 'good faith' would be excluded.

The Parliament also voted against imposing criminal sanctions for infringements. Francisco Mingorance, director of public policy at the Business Software Alliance welcomed the directive.

"Piracy is seriously undermining business, costing tens of thousands of jobs and depriving governments of billions in lost tax revenues.

"This directive harmonises some of the best-practice civil enforcement measures and makes them available Europe-wide," he said.

Deanna Slocum, anti-piracy director at Macromedia, said: "This is a significant step the EU has taken in terms of protection and enforcement of intellectual property. It has been in process for a long time."

sara_yirrell@vnu.co.uk