Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights

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Adoption of the Directive on Measures and Procedures to Enforce
Intellectual Property Rights - the infamous Fourtou Report - is a mere
formality. The General Secretariat of the European Council has invited the
Council's Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) to suggest to
the Council, at one of its forthcoming meetings, to adopt the Directive as
an 'A'-item.

The Council is fully satisfied with the final version, as amended by
Parliament on 9 March 2004. The vote was the result of a deal between the
Rapporteur - French Conservative Janelly Fourtou - with the Council in
order to allow for the Directive to be adopted in First Reading.

After adoption by the Council, the next step will be publication of the
Directive in the EU's Official Journal. Member States then have to
transpose it within 24 months.

Council Secretariat, 'I/A Item' note (07.04.2004)
http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/04/st08/st08285.en04.pdf

Provisional version of the Directive
http://www3.europarl.eu.int/omk/omnsapir.so/pv2?PRG=CALDOC&FILE=20040309&LANGUE=EN&TPV=PROV&LASTCHAP=33&SDOCTA=25&TXTLST=1&Type_Doc=FIRST&POS=1

Final version may be approximated by applying amendments on the right-hand
column to initial Commission proposal at
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2003/com2003_0046en01.pdf