ACTA or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was been trending at the time when it was made public.
Many issues had risen due to how it can supposedly affect the industries running on the internet. Of course, the online gambling sector is one of them.
If you haven’t heard of it, make sure to read through to the end because its effects will surprise any online gambler.
What is ACTA?
ACTA is an international agreement, evident from the complete name. it aims to create standards from all countries that enforce intellectual property rights.
It deals with different types of counterfeit goods. This may also include the products and services in medicine organizations or other sectors.
However, the agreement is actually covering a much broader subject, which includes the online distribution of intellectual properties. Thus, it’s suspected that it may disrupt the normal cycle of distribution of content on the internet.
Is the negotiation open for the public?
The negotiations had always been made in secret, and they weren’t even discussed with the EU Parliament, which caused a huge uproar. Regardless, the public wasn’t supposed to be part of the talks about the ACTA. But due to the interference of the EU Parliament, it became open for an inspection from the public and other organizations.
Is it a trade agreement?
Due to the uncooperativeness of the European Commission with the EU Parliament, they came up with the trade agreement that counterfeiting and piracy are to be punished with criminal penalties.
However, as previously noted, the EU Parliament fixed this by making the discussion open for scrutiny, which made it as it is now and you may even call it a “mixed agreement” as a result.
What are the penalties for violating the trade agreement?
There are many ACTA implications mentioned in the trade agreement, but the offender, which may even include innocent individuals, will have to pay large fines or time in prison.
This seemed to be a bit too much and so it’s perhaps one of the reasons why it got voted against almost unanimously by the EU Parliament.
While copyright holders are the main group that supports the trade agreement, the majority of internet users and organizations vote and protest against the ACTA and we suggest you go through that, too, considering the many downsides of the agreement.
