Europe declares independence from Hollywood with ACTA vote

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to reject the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The vote blocks the treaty from taking effect in EU member states, and is likely to make the treaty a dead letter around the world.

European and American officials have long insisted that ratifying ACTA would not require any substantive changes to European or US laws. Indeed, when President Obama signed ACTA in October, he argued that, because ACTA does not change US law, he could call it an "executive agreement" rather than a treaty, thereby bypassing the Senate ratification process.

So why did he sign a treaty if it does nothing more than maintain the status quo? The point seems to have been to establish US- and EU-style copyright laws as a global standard, and then use that to pressure less-developed nations to beef up their copyright laws.