The decision follows intense criticism of the text by digital rights campaigners as well as the EU's own data protection watchdog. It means that "neither the EU nor its individual member states can join the agreement," the Parliament said.
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said ACTA was the "wrong solution" for protecting intellectual property (IP) rights.
"The European Parliament staunchly supports the fight against piracy and counterfeiting, which harm European companies and pose a threat to consumer health and European jobs," he said. "The majority in the European Parliament is of the opinion that ACTA is too vague, leaving the room for abuses and raising concern about its impact on consumers' privacy and civil liberties, on innovation and the free flow of information."
ACTA requires member countries to have in place "enforcement procedures" under national laws that allow for "effective" action to be taken against IP infringers that is both "expeditious" and a suitable "deterrent to further infringements". However, its provisions relating to the enforcement of IP rights that exist in "the digital environment" proved particularly unpopular with campaigners for digital rights.
ACTA states that acts of ‘wilful copyright piracy’ or ‘wilful related rights piracy’ committed ‘on a commercial scale’ would be considered criminal offences and that offenders could face imprisonment or fines as a result. However, the EU's own privacy watchdog, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), said in April that the treaty "appears to create new categories of offences that would be subject to criminal enforcement" without defining what particular acts could lead to such sanctions as is required to provide "legal certainty".
Earlier this year thousands of people took to the streets of cities across Europe to protest against the impact they believe ACTA would have on internet freedoms. This action followed the decision by the UK, and 21 other EU member countries, to sign up to ACTA in January. Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and the US signed ACTA in October last year.
In response to the public outcry over ACTA the European Commission asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to rule on whether the text was compatible with the underlying principles of EU law.
In a statement issued after the MEPs rejected ACTA, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht reiterated that the ECJ would still be asked to rule on the issue. He suggested the decision of the ECJ could help shape the content of a new international anti-piracy treaty.
"The European Commission will continue to seek the legal opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on whether this agreement harms any of the fundamental rights of European citizens – including freedom of speech," he said. "European citizens have raised these concerns and now they have the right to receive answers. We must respect that right."
"It's clear that the question of protecting Intellectual Property does need to be addressed on a global scale – for business, the creative industries whether in Europe or our partner countries. With the rejection of ACTA, the need to protect the backbone of Europe's economy across the globe: our innovation, our creativity, our ideas – our intellectual property – does not disappear," the Commissioner said.
"The European Commission will take on-board the opinion of the ECJ and the issues raised across the European political spectrum. We will then consult with our international partners on how to move forward on this issue. As we look to boost growth and jobs at this challenging time for Europe's economy, we must work with the European Parliament, Member States, our international partners as well as stakeholders on the protection of Intellectual Property at international level and within the framework of international law."
The European Parliament's decision was welcomed by digital rights groups. The Open Rights Group said that MEPs had "listened and stood up for democracy." However, creative industry bodies warned that the European economy could lose out by not agreeing to ACTA.
"Europe’s innovative manufacturing and creative industries consider that today’s vote by the European Parliament will be damaging for European intellectual property, jobs and the economy," a statement by the International Trade Mark Association said. "The decision on ACTA is a missed opportunity for the EU to protect its creative and innovation-based industries in the international market place."
ACTA needed to be approved by the European Parliament as well as ratified by the individual EU signatories in order that the text could come into effect in the trading bloc.
