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Europe's copyright bill ACTA on last legs

The European Parliament's trade committee rejects ACTA, saying the legislation is too vague, and its opinions carry a good deal of weight with the larger governing body.

David Meyer Special to CNET News.com

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, has been rejected by the European Parliament's trade committee, the opinion of which is a major influence on the wider parliament.

INTA supported rapporteur David Martin's rejection of ACTA this morning by 19 votes to 12. Minutes before, the committee also voted 19-12 to ignore European Commission calls to postpone voting until the European Court of Justice has decided on ACTA's legality.

Trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said late last night that he would still ask the Parliament to reconsider ratifying ACTA when the ECJ ruling comes through in a year or two's time, even if the Parliament rejects the treaty at a plenary vote on 4 July.

"This was not an anti-intellectual property vote. This was a vote against the contents of ACTA," Martin said in a press conference after the vote.

Read more of "ACTA almost dead after latest body blow from Europe" at ZDNet UK.