Is ACTA dead in the water? Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Digital Agenda and one of the European Commission’s vice presidents, appears to think so: “We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA,” she said in a speech on internet freedom. Officially, the EC is continuing to work towards ratification of the agreement, so for a senior internal figure to make such a public declaration is surprising. In a further development, Switzerland has added its name to the list of countries that may be having second thoughts, with an announcement from the ruling Federal Council saying: “Switzerland has, for the moment, deferred signature of the ACTA Agreement until enough elements are available to be able to assess how to proceed.”

But viewing Switzerland’s announcement as another nail in the coffin of ACTA is misguided, as Christian Rohner from Swissberg explains. “The goal of the recent press release of the Swiss Federal Council was certainly not to kill ACTA,” he says. “Switzerland just takes its most favoured position in international politics, namely the one of neutrality. However, in general the Swiss Federal Council is very much in favour of fighting counterfeiting and piracy, and supports protective measures in this field; for example the Stop Piracy platform.”

In making this decision, Swiss politicians cannot be accused of reacting in a knee-jerk manner to protests, not least because the level of street demonstrations in Switzerland has been low. Rather, it appears that they are keen to ensure that the agreement is given full care and consideration before signing. “In their fight against counterfeiting and piracy, brand owners need quick, easy and inexpensive measures, if such measures shall not remain drops in the ocean,” Rohner says. “However, such effective weapons need their time to be handed over – and ACTA might have been developed just too much in a rush.”

The criticism of ACTA, however, has been a factor in the Swiss desire for further time for deliberation, as Rohner explains: “The wording used in the recent press release of the Swiss Federal Council – saying ‘the Federal Council takes these fears seriously since they concern fundamental liberties and important points of law’ – shows that there seem to be doubts about the real scope of protection provided by ACTA, and the Swiss Federal Council seems to want more clarification with regard to the issue of possible extrajudicial censorship through threats of third-party liability.”

ACTA is compatible with current Swiss law, which means that fears expressed by some protesters about increased internet censorship are groundless. Yet despite the difference of opinion between brand owners and campaigners for internet rights on the issue of IP protection, Rohner is optimistic that conflict need not always be part of the equation: “A balance can and will be found in the near future; case law and legislation in the past years confirm this.”