From EurActive, we have an article entitled, “Serbia to adopt ACTA for EU membership: Official “. From that article:
“Totić dismissed fears that ACTA could lead to infringement of citizens rights, privacy and data protection rules, arguing that national implementation and judicial review of cases of suspected copyright violations would guard against this.
“Therefore, I believe that there is no risk,” she said.
…
“One is of an impression that, although the law envisages strict penalties for the crime of unauthorised use of copyrighted materials and brands, sentences pronounced are lower than for stealing physical, material goods,” she said.“
How Serbia, or indeed any Party to ACTA, implements ACTA locally could become irrelevant.
A harsh implementer of ACTA, a Party who has “strict penalties for the crime of unauthorised use of copyrighted materials and brands” to use Totić lingo, can request the extradition of a citizen of a Party to ACTA to face the IPR justice of that harsh implementing ACTA Party.
Thus, by signing ACTA, Parties to ACTA in effect accept the harshest implementation of ACTA a Party to ACTA has chosen.
Potential Parties to ACTA, and indeed many other Treaties in the making (ie, the Trans-Pacific Partnership – TTP), need to be aware of this and not delude themselves that “there is no risk“.
I have explained this before, here.
Here’s a good article from Techdirt on the issue.
Sincerely,
awbmaven
