The International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry has given a cautious welcome to a 'communication' issued by the European Commission which, Euro-political types say, provides "practical, non-legislative measures to combat counterfeiting and piracy".
The EC memo doesn't make any comment on member states' individual intellectual property laws, but proposes various ways in which authorities charged with combating piracy across the European Union could work together to ensure more success in stopping cross-border IP infringement. The communication observes that: "Due to the international nature of IPR infringements improving internal cross-frontier cooperation is not only a legislative obligation, it is a clear necessity".
IFPI chief John Kennedy said that any measures to improve anti-piracy activity was good news, but said that such measures could never be as productive as a tightening of intellectual property laws. According to Billboard, he said: "we will do everything to support these new measures, while at the same time working with the Commission on the next step, which in our view would consist of strengthening the legislative framework".
I think the EC's communication is concerned more with physical piracy and the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit goods than it is with online copyright infringement, though don't quote me on that.