Rich Fiscus
12 Dec 2007 0:57
A bill introduced in the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support would expand the scope of Intellectual Property (IP) enforcement by Federal officials through the creation of a new division of the Department of Justice for the job.
According to the announcement from House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers the bill would create an office called 'The Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative in the Executive Office of the President' (the law enforcement center of the Federal Government) responsible for enforcing IP law both domestically and internationally. On the domestic front, it even mandates that the new IP Enforcement division be responsible for prosecuting civil cases on behalf of intellectual property owners, many of which are multi-billion dollar corporations.
The bill also increases both criminal and civil penalties for IP infringement, as well as adding forfeiture of computer equipment used for such infringement by the IP Enforcement office.
Bloggers across the internet have attacked the bill as draconian, many seeing a direct relationship to comments made earlier this year by NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker that the creation of such an agency is critical to the well being of the country's economy.
A statement from NBC Universal regarding the current Judiciary Committee bill said “Piracy and counterfeiting have become a worldwide pandemic of crime. 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.”
Meanwhile a group of 25 prominent law professors from around the country sent a letter to Representative Conyers decrying the bill as unfair because of the threefold increase in civil penalties introduced.
Sources:
Variety
CNet News
Law Professors' Letter To Representative Conyers
Digital Daily