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=20...

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

(Contribution by Andreas Dietl, EDRI EU affairs director)