EU Attacks Copyright Infringement With Draconian Laws

You thought the chill was only for the United States? Think again: From now on companies in Europe will be able to raid, confiscate and freeze the bank accounts of those accused of copyright infringement. How do you like this newly passed EU legislation? While this "law was originally drawn up to target professional pirates, criminals and counterfeiters who make copies of goods such as football shirts or CDs, during the debates, the directive was widened to cover any infringement of intellectual property. Civil liberty and lobby groups feared that the music industry will also use the law to mount raids on the homes of people who swap songs via file-sharing systems such as Kazaa. Lobbyists fear that the law could threaten press freedom in countries, such as Spain, which include confidential information in definitions of intellectual property. EU ministers are expected to sign off on the new rules against counterfeiting by the end of the week. Member states would then have 18 months to implement their own versions of the directive."