ACTA faces three EU Parliament votes this week

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

ACTA faces three EU Parliament votes this week

Three committees in the European Parliament are due to vote this week on the controversial anti-counterfeiting treaty ACTA

Members of the Committee on Legal Affairs will vote today on the impact of the deal on EU law.

Tomorrow the Committee on Civil Liberties will vote in the compatibility of ACTA with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy will give its opinion on ACTA’s impact on EU industries.

The results of this week’s voting will be taken into account by Parliament’s lead committee on ACTA, which is due to vote in June giving a formal recommendation on the Parliament’s position on ACTA.

Earlier this month Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission and in charge of its digital agenda, told an audience “we are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA”.

“We have recently seen how many thousands of people are willing to protest against rules which they see as constraining the openness and innovation of the internet,” she said. “This is a strong new political voice. And as a force for openness, I welcome it, even if I do not always agree with everything it says on every subject.”

A majority of politicians in the Dutch Parliament is reported to have voted on Tuesday in favour of a motion to reject ACTA.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The firm is continuing its aggressive IP hiring streak with the addition of partner Matthew Rizzolo
Pantech counsel Shogo Matsunaga speaks exclusively to Managing IP about how his team proved Google’s unwillingness, and ultimately secured a landmark SEP settlement
New partners, including the firm’s first female head of a department, are eyeing a deeper focus on client understanding
Chunguang Hu of China PAT explains why his ‘insider’ experience as a patent examiner benefits clients and why he wants to debunk the myth that IP has limited value in China
Essenese Obhan shares his expansion plans and vision of creating a ‘one-stop shop’ for clients after Indian firms Obhan & Associates and Mason & Associates joined forces
From AI and the UPC to troublesome trademarks in China, experts name the IP trends likely to dominate 2026
Colm Murphy says he is keen to help clients navigate cross-border IP challenges in Europe
With 2025 behind us, US practitioners sit down with Managing IP to discuss the major IP moments from the year and what to expect in 2026
Large-scale transatlantic mergers will give US entities a strong foothold at the UPC, and could spark further fragmentation of European patent practices
This year’s most-read stories covered uncertainty at the USPTO, a potential boycott of a major international IP conference, rankings releases, and a contempt of court proceeding
Gift this article