A compromise solution has been found with a view to the adoption of the controversial EU proposal on the protection of intellectual property. The text of the provision presented by the Commission and in substance adopted by the European Parliament and by the French MEP Fourtou, author of the report contemplated “penal sanctions, including prison”, for grave violations of intellectual property rights. On the pressure of the government of the member states, however, Parliament and Commission have agreed to amend the text by eliminating the threat of imprisonment from the chapter relating to sanctions and substituting it with the implementation of “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” measures which would lead to the doubling of administrative compensation for violations of copyright and intellectual property. The compromise solution, though criticised by intellectual property agencies, should permit the new legislation to be approved by Easter.
