Dear Member of the Legal Affairs Committee,
On behalf of the organisations represented above and in view of the forthcoming vote in the Legal Affairs Committee, we would like to thank you for your ongoing work on the Communication “Towards a renewed consensus on the enforcement of intellectual property rights: an EU Action Plan” (“the Action Plan”) published by the European Commission in July 2014.
The Action Plan is a positive step forward, leading to increased awareness and cooperation between national authorities, the promotion of due diligence throughout supply chains, improved court procedures for SMEs, and better training for enforcement officials; in particular, the so-called ‘Follow the Money’ approach addressed in the Action Plan (par. 4) is an important ingredient in the broader range of activities required in the fight against piracy. It is intended to prevent commercial-scale IPR infringements by involving all actors in the supply chain and by depriving commercial scale infringers of their revenue flows.
Similar initiatives have already been or are currently being launched in several EU countries such as the UK, Germany and France. These measures are not only important for creators and their business partners, but also for the protection of consumers/users and of the most vulnerable (e.g. children) against the harmful effects of certain web sites1 .