International Civil Liberties Coalition Urges Rejection of IP Enforcement Directive Campaign for an Open Digital Environment (CODE) Sends Letter to EU to Protect Consumer Rights and Competition An international coalition of 50 civil liberties groups and consumer rights campaigns sent a letter to the European Union today urging rejection of the proposed Intellectual property Enforcement Directive. The coalition warns that the proposed Directive is overbroad and threatens civil liberties, innovation, and competition policy. The proposal requires EU Member States to criminalize all violations of any intellectual property right that can be tied to any commercial purpose, with penalties to include imprisonment. "If this proposal becomes a reality, major companies from abroad can use 'intellectual property' regulations to gain control over the lives of ordinary European citizens and threaten digital freedoms", said Andy Müller-Maguhn, a board member of European Digital Rights and speaker for the Chaos Computer Club. "Under this proposal, a person's individual liberty to use his own property is replaced with a limited license that can be revoked or its terms changed at any time and for any reason," added the German civil rights activist. "Currently EU-Member states are implementing the EU Copyright Directive and the EU Software Patent Directive is next in the line. We should really wait and see what effect these new laws have before adding [...]