The Malta Chamber of Commerce said today that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) safeguards the interests of legitimate businesses and the creation of sustainable jobs.

"The proposed agreement strengthens the fight against piracy, both in the real and virtual worlds. On the other hand, it does not introduce any new internet policing requirements beyond any existing provisions in EU and Member State legislation. It must therefore be stressed that this Agreement will not create any additional legislation at the EU level, rather, it will support the enforcement of legislation that already exists," the Chamber said in a statement.

With regard to concerns by the generic medicines industry that the original agreement could create confusion between counterfeits and the marketing of generic medicines  by extending sanctions aimed at copyright and piracy, the Chamber noted that these concerns were settled following negotiations on behalf of the industry. The amended agreement will not impact the legitimate generic medicines industry.

In the past days, the Malta Chamber actively participated in pan-European discussions on the matter through its affiliations in BUSINESSEUROPE and EUROCHAMBRES.  The discussion at BUSINESSEUROPE resulted in agreement that working towards the elimination of piracy and counterfeit is a priority as these seriously harm enterprises, including SMEs. 

"Acta is being seen by business organisations across most of Europe as an important tool to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)  and enforce already existing practices in the field of customs cooperation, civil and criminal enforcement," the Chamber said.

"A possible rejection of Acta by the European Parliament and / or the refusal of a Member State to sign the agreement would set a negative precedent in Europe in terms of IPR protection.  This would represent a further setback in terms of Europe’s catch-up with other blocs in the area of research, technology, development and innovation.  This means that its competitiveness and future growth prospects would be threatened further. "

The Chamber urged all the other social partners in Malta to support Acta because it would safeguard jobs. 

 

 

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