EU executive tables crackdown on piracy crime

The European commission is to propose controversial common EU criminal sanctions against counterfeiting and piracy of goods.

Justice commissioner Franco Frattini’s proposals are set to including penalties of up to four years in prison and a menu of fines up to €300,000.

Proposals will divide member states; some are opposed to giving Brussels the jealously guarded power to set criminal sanctions for breaches of EU law.

Under the proposals, one-size-fits-all criminal penalties for intellectual property theft could be imposed by a qualified majority rather than unanimity among national capitals.

The UK is concerned over the move, both in terms of criminal sanctions and the scope of commission proposals, said to be wider than WTO TRIPS rules.

“The UK has yet to be convinced of the need for criminal sanctions at the EU level,” said a British official.

The legislation is the first of nine existing or pending laws to be beefed up after an ECJ ruling gave the commission the power to spell out criminal sanctions for infringements of EU law.

Frattini will justify the penalties as necessary to crack down on piracy and the rapid movement of fake products across EU borders.

The existing patchwork of civil and criminal remedies or penalties across the EU’s 25 countries is hindering law enforcement, he will argue.

Seizure of counterfeited goods in the EU increased by 1000 percent between 1998 and 2004 and 103 million counterfeited and pirated items were seized in 2004 alone.

A September 13 2005 European court of justice ruling clarified commission powers to insist that member states impose criminal sanctions for breaches of legislation in policy areas where EU law has primacy.

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