ACTA draft gets mixed reaction

ACTA proposes to address intellectual property infringement on an international scale

The controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) published today in draft (PDF) for the first time could benefit small firms in their copyright protection efforts, but has angered some human rights groups.

ACTA proposes to address intellectual property infringement and counterfeit medicines and goods on an international scale. One of the ways in which it aims to do this is to introduce fixed fee penalties for those caught encroaching copyright.

The fixed fee approach would be completely new to the UK if it makes the final version of ACTA. Such penalties are common in the US, where an infringer of copyright is liable for 'statutory damages' of up to $30,000 (£19,500) for each infringement, with minimum fines starting at $750 (£485).

Robin Fry, a partner at law firm Beachcroft LLP, welcomed the proposals, especially for small businesses.

"The agreement is between the heavy hitters [EU, US, Japan and Korea] and is needed, particularly for copyright. Better co-operation between countries will lead to a level playing field when tackling infringement," he said.

"The fixed damages penalty will be useful at lower levels of trademark and copyright infringement. These penalties will help small businesses to better combat breaches. Currently, businesses may not go to court as costs are high and any damages which paid out are trivial."

While the move to release the ACTA document into the public domain has been welcomed by campaigning groups, some reacted angrily to parts of the proposed legislation.

Florian Leppla, a campaigner at the Open Rights Group said this is a "great victory for campaigners who have long asked for the document to be released".

"What we need now is an open process that allows consumer and citizen groups to influence what is in the document. We would also like to know which countries are pushing for which policies."