Monday, December 10, 2007

Major Copyright Bill Boosts Penalties, Creates New Agency

It might be safe to say that industry capitulation is a long shot at this point.

From Declan McCullagh, CNET News:

Top Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday introduced a sweeping 69-page bill that ratchets up civil penalties for copyright infringement, boosts criminal enforcement, and even creates a new federal agency charged with bringing about a national and international copyright crackdown.

"By providing additional resources for enforcement of intellectual property, we ensure that innovation and creativity will continue to prosper in our society," Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich) said in a statement.

The legislation, called the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act, or PRO IP Act, is throughly bipartisan. The top Republican, Lamar Smith of Texas, on the Judiciary committee is a sponsor. So is Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the chair of the subcommittee that writes copyright law, and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Adam Schiff took $1.1M from lawyers and big media. Big media companies leave him alone because he is a copyright extremist.

We need to single out the worst reps and do real political damage, not simply gripe. People, wake up!