The motion picture business likes (PDF) the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). After a few tough years of record-setting box office receipts, the industry welcomes new legal enforcement tools that will "protect the jobs of the millions of men and women working in film and other creative industries."
But the European Parliament isn't convinced yet. After all, there's not even a text to view. And despite official statements expressing peace, love, and harmony, it's clear that ACTA hasn't actually been finalized and that some real issues still remain.
So the news that negotiators have packed it in and will host no more meetings didn't sit very well with Parliament, which worries that an incomplete deal is being passed off as final and will soon be shoved down its throat. To keep its collective throat clear of ACTA-sized obstructions, key members of Parliament have taken preemptive measures.
According to Euractiv, MEPs including Parliamentary Vice President Stavros Lambrinidis, are "alarmed" and have drafted a letter to the European Commission, which handled the negotiations.
"If the agreement is indeed concluded, we demand from the Commission to present the final text of the negotiation to the European Parliament as soon as it is procedurally possible," said the letter, which also called on the EU not to apply anything in ACTA "before the European Parliament has the chance to express its informed opinion on the issue."
That opinion could be a cantankerous one. Parliament has shown repeated irritation at being kept in the dark about ACTA negotiations. A group of MEPs asked ACTA negotiators to meet with them last month in Tokyo, but the Japanese government declined to arrange the meeting, citing scheduling concerns. And MEPs have shown concern over the Internet portions of ACTA, along with patent issues that could create problems for access to medicines.
We'll know more about ACTA, and its reception, on October 7, when both US and EU negotiators will provide briefings and (apparently) the text of the deal.
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