EU says legislation not needed to battle piracy

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Battling piracy and protecting copyright doesn’t require more legislation, the European Commission has said.

Instead, Europe should enforce existing laws and encourage the private sector, consumers, and governments to work together to protect intellectual property (IP) rights.

Intellectual property is a “cornerstone” of Europe’s economy, said internal market and services commissioner Charlie McCreevy.

“Unfortunately, there are always those who will seek to undermine honest intentions,” McCreevy said in a statement. “We need to stop this dangerous trend not by more legislation, but by mobilising stronger collaboration helping us to fight back."

Rather than add more anti-piracy laws, the EC said it would look to increase enforcement through a new EU Observatory, which would bring together experts from the private sector with consumers and government officials to share best practice and ideas.

It also called for EU countries to choose a national coordinator for the issue, to help member states get better organised on preventing piracy, and to develop ways to work together to tackle disputes.

The UK has been looking to come up with new ways of tackling piracy, lead by Business Secretary Peter Mandelson – who has been criticised for criminalising filesharers and having close ties with the music industry. On the other hand, the newly-launched Pirate Party is set to run in the next election on the very issue.

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