While some have believed that ACTA is already dead in Europe, there are still actual votes to be held, and there have been significant concerns that political trickery might lead to ACTA actually being approved. The first three key votes (from three specific committees) happened today, and while it was close, all three came out with recommendations to reject ACTA. As Rick Falkvinge points out, one telling point is if you look at the votes on the Committee on Legal Affairs (Juri) and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). The winning proposal for ITRE was drafted by Pirate Party MEP (and occasional Techdirt contributor) Amelia Andersdotter. The losing proposal for Juri was written by Marielle Gallo — author of the infamous Gallo Report a few years ago, pushing the EU Parliament to support massively draconian IP enforcement rules. In other words, “the pirate” vs. “the copyright maximalist” in an EU Parlimantary committee votes… and the pirate won. Not too long ago, such a result would be unthinkable. However, it shows how quickly things can shift when you have reality on your side…

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