Spanish ‘Popular Party’ passes new fast-acting website closure law

Spain has stepped up and added itself to the growing list of countries that are experimenting with new techniques to clamp down on piracy and counterfeiting. The country’s ruling administration, Partido Popular, has pushed through an anti-piracy measure that will make it quicker and easier for copyright holders to shut down infringing websites.

Spanish news site El Mundo covered a press conference held by new Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who confirmed The Sinde Law, which allows a judge to block an infringing website in as little as 10 days, had been passed. Santamaria said that the law meets the “international standard” for anti-piracy regulations. Everyday Sinde Law operations will be overseen by the Intellectual Property Committee.

The namesake of former Minister of Culture Ángeles González-Sinde, the original proposal was shelved in December by her Socialist Party. The group had failed to approve the legislation despite introducing it early last year. Once the Popular Party took the reigns of the country, however, it quickly moved to accomplish what the previous administration could not.

Spanish film organizations were elated by news of the The Sinde Law’s passing.

“I think it is a quite a gesture that it has passed so quickly. And very positive,” said Enrique Gonzalez Macho, Spanish Film Academy President and veteran distributor of Alta Films. Spain’s Producers Federation President Pedro Perez questioned whether Sinde and her fellow party members actually wanted to pass the law in the first place. (via Torrent Freak)