Internet Pact Sparks Outrage Across Europe

 　　Tens of thousands of Europeans braved bitterly cold temperatures to rally against a controversial treaty intended to protect intellectual property.

　　Anger spilled into the streets of European cities, from Sofia and Vilnius to Prague and Paris to voice displeasure with ACTA, the Anti Counterfeiting¹ Trade Agreement.

　　The treaty had been under negotiation² for years, and countries like the United States, Japan and South Korea say it is needed to protect the rights of musicians, filmmakers and even clothing and pharmaceutical³ companies.  But in the past few months it has come under increasing criticism from young people in Europe who say it will lead to online censorship.

　　Some protesters, like Jan Hulek in Prague, also voiced complaints over how the treaty has been ratified⁵.

　　"The main issue why I am here is because ACTA was accepted without people knowing it. We didn't know ACTA was going on and there should be discussion before we accepted it. There wasn't," Hulek said.

　　Others, like Act Up Paris President Frederic Navarro, say the treaty's negative impact will be felt throughout the world.

　　"Eighty percent of Africans who have AIDS are treated with generic⁶ medicines made in India. If this agreement [ACTA] is signed, they won't have any access to generic medicines and will die while the pharmaceutical laboratories are making profits on our lives," said Navarro.

　　Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the U.S. signed ACTA this past October.  And more than 20 European Union members approved the deal last month.  But several countries, including Germany, have pulled back from officially signing onto the treaty as the protests have begun to intensify⁷.

　　Last month, several of the world's best known Internet sites staged an online blackout to protest anti-piracy⁸ legislation before the U.S. Congress.  Critics at organizations such as Wikipedia and Google said the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) would censor⁴ the Web and threaten freedom of expression.

1 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

2 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

3 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

4 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

5 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

6 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

7 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

8 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。