http://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-and-eu-to-sign-controversial-acta-treaty-tomorrow-336764-Jan2012/

"IRELAND IS TO sign a controversial international agreement tomorrow which promises a major international crackdown on the trade of counterfeit goods – and illegal internet filesharing.
Irish representatives will sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at a ceremony tomorrow – as will representatives from each of the other 26 European Union member states, and the EU itself."

It's amazing how much our governments strive to inch us closer and closer to totalitarianism.

Does this mean no more pizza's from mario? Damnit! I LOVED THOSE PIZZAS!

They worry over copy right and yet they turn a blind eye to everything else. BS I say. Greed has it's black slimy tentacles in everything and everyone.

I was hoping that Ireland would be tougher than this :(
Then again governments are bending over on an international scale to big corporations

worrying about copyrights isn't greed. copyrights are the basis of the creative industries.

the problem is that ACTA and similar legislation leave the door wide open for abuse by corporations and governments.

Copyright is the bane of creativity. Will we ever get another Star Wars game like KOTOR2? No, because Lucas has to make sure his precious universe is the way he wants it to be with no room for different interpretations of the Star Wars universe. Look at Sherlock Holmes, because it was public domain, we got two great adaptions of the series from Guy Ritchie and Steven Moffat. Would we have gotten both if there was some Arthur Conan Doyle estate to pay royalties to? Hell no, we probably would have gotten only one, and it would have been made according to how the current copyright holders want it to be made, essentially limiting the creativity of the adaption.