[AMIA-L] House Bill Seeks to Crack Down on Copyright

["Rubin, Nan" <RubinN@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This was among the broadcast news items today.

Nan Rubin

Nan Rubin, Project Director
Preserving Digital Public Television
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450 W.  33rd St.
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212-560-2925 (direct line)
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House Bill Would Strengthen Intellectual-Property Crackdown

Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property ("PRO
IP") Act of 2007 Pushed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers, Other
Reps.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/6/2007 1:15:00 PM

Led by Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers
<http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6505265.html>  (D-Mich.), a
group of House members introduced a bill that would give the government
crackdown on intellectual-property theft more firepower.


The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property
("PRO IP") Act of 2007
<http://judiciary.house.gov/newscenter.aspx?A=887> , introduced
Wednesday, would toughen criminal and civil penalties for copyright and
trademark infringement, create an Office of the United States
Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER) at the White
House and a separate IP-enforcement division at Justice and provide for
IP officers to coordinate with other countries.

The crackdown includes everything from fake drugs to bogus handbags, but
it also includes the movies, TV shows and other increasingly digital --
and, thus, more easily copied and distributed -- media content.

NBC Universal, which has been a leading voice on IP protection, gave
props to the PROP IP act. "Piracy and counterfeiting have become a
worldwide pandemic of crime," the company said in a statement."If we are
to turn the tide, we must significantly step up our effort to protect
intellectual property on many fronts. The bold mandate in this
legislation for high-level executive leadership -- starting at the White
House and the Department of Justice -- and for dedicated prosecutorial,
investigative and international resources will dramatically advance the
cause of protecting U.S. innovation, technological invention and
creativity."

The House Intellectual Property Subcommittee plans to hold a hearing on
the bill next week.