Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights
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Directive 2004/48/EC |
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| Title: | Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights |
| Made by: | European Parliament & Council |
| Made under: | Art. 95 |
| Official Journal reference: | L157, 2004-04-30, pp. 32 – 36 L195, 2004-06-02, pp. 16 – 25 |
| Dates | |
| Made: | 2004-04-29 |
| Came into force: | 2004-05-20 |
| Implementation date: | 2006-04-29 |
| Preparative texts | |
| Proposal from the Commission: | |
| Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee: | C32, 2004-02-05, p. 15 |
| Opinion of the European Parliament: | |
| Reports: | |
| Other legislation | |
| Replaces: | — |
| Amends: | — |
| Amended by: | — |
| Replaced by: | — |
| Status: Current legislation | |
Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights is a European Union directive in the field of intellectual property law, made under the internal market provisions of the Treaty of Rome. The directive covers the remedies that are available in the civil courts, but not criminal offenses. Under Article 3(1), Members States can be censured in the European Court of Justice if their civil procedures on the infringement of intellectual property rights are "unnecessarily complicated or costly, or entail unreasonable time-limits or unwarranted delays". Otherwise the Directive harmonizes the rules on standing, evidence, interlocutary measures, seizure and injunctions, damages and costs and judicial publication.
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[edit] Implementation
The provisions of the Directive were due to be implemented in all member states of the European Union by 29 April 2006. However, a number of states have not completed the necessary steps.[citation needed]
The Directive has been implemented into United Kingdom law by the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 No. 1028.
[edit] Criticism
The Directive has been widely criticised on the account of its draconian and ineffective approach that mimics the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). So strong was the criticism, in fact, in particular from telecommunications industry and parts of computer industry, that the original draft was substantially changed. A number of problems still remain in the final document.
- Cambridge University’s Ross Anderson [2]
- ZDNet News [3]
- BBC Analysis [4]
- Indymedia on RFID tags [5]
[edit] See also
- Customs Regulation 3295/94
- Directive on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights (proposed)
- Copyright law of the European Union
- Community Trade Mark
- European Union patent law
- Copyright infringement
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Text of the Directive
- "Combating counterfeiting and piracy in the single market", European Parliament Green Paper,
- Legislative Overview from the European Parliament
- Procedure Observer from the European Parliament
- Report from the office of the European Parliament in the UK
- Information page from AEL
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Copyright law of the European Union |  |
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| Directives | Computer programs (91/250/EEC) • Rental & related rights (92/100/EEC) • Satellite & cable (93/83/EEC) • Duration (93/98/EEC) • Databases (96/9/EC) • Conditional access (98/84/EC) • Copyright (2001/29/EC) • Resale right (2001/84/EC) • Civil enforcement (2004/48/EC) Also: Regulation (EC) No 1383/2003 (Customs enforcement) |
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| Treaties | Berne Convention • Rome Convention • TRIPS • WCT • WPPT | |
| National laws | Austria • Belgium • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom | |
| EEA Countries | Iceland • Liechtenstein • Norway | |
