EU assembly adopts punishments to tackle piracy

Shopkeepers wait for customers at a store selling pirated DVDs in Beijing April 24, 2007. The European Parliament is set to make legal history on Wednesday by adopting harmonised sanctions to combat piracy across the European Union.

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament adopted a measure on Wednesday to harmonize criminal punishments across the European Union for the first time as part of a crackdown on the multi-billion-euro fake goods industry.

The EU assembly voted by 374-278, with 17 abstentions, in favor of criminal sanctions for infringing intellectual property rights such as by abusing trademarks and copyright.

Under the measure, counterfeiters could be fined up to 300,000 euros ($407,000) or imprisoned for up to four years.

Approval from EU countries is also needed for the measure to become law, but some nations such as Britain say criminal sanctions should remain the preserve of member states.