AT&T Tech Support 360House OKs copyright czar, new piracy penalties
A bipartisan proposal to create an intellectual-property czar and impose new penalties on pirates sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday.
By a 410-10 vote, the House approved the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property, or Pro-IP, Act, which is backed by the entertainment industry and other major copyright holders. The proposal is chiefly sponsored by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee.
The bill would rewrite U.S. law to allow federal officials to seize property--including computers or other equipment used to commit intellectual-property crimes or obtained as a result of those proceeds--from people convicted of making unauthorized copies of music, movies, or live performances. In civil cases, federal agents would have to establish that there was a "substantial connection" between the property and the offense.
In addition, the bill would also create a new position, presidentially appointed within the Executive Office of the President, charged with acting as a chief adviser on intellectual-property enforcement matters. The U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative, as it would be known, appears to be modeled after the U.S. Trade Representative, which already has some intellectual-property enforcement responsibilities and puts out an annual report on global piracy.
The measure had previously drawn harsh criticism from consumer advocacy groups because of a controversial provision that would have dramatically increased fines in copyright infringement lawsuits. But that section was stripped out during a committee vote, seemingly to avert proposal-killing opposition, though the bill's sponsors said they plan to revisit the issue.
Thursday's vote may have arrived scarcely a week after the House Judiciary Committee lent its backing to the bill, but it seems unlikely to be on a fast track to becoming law, thanks to vocal objections from the Bush administration.
The U.S. Department of Justice has complained that establishing such a new White House-based intellectual-property officer is unnecessary and could undermine its traditional authority in prosecuting copyright cases.
One other thought, why does our government model our official titles after Nazis (Homeland Security) and Russians (Czar)? I find it extremely disturbing.
Take a good looks at just where we have come in the past few years. Everything we do an see and hear is carefully controlled by a select few.
We are in serious trouble and our forefathers would be mounting a revolution by now. Alas I think most of us have become sheep
Allowing these groups to dictate new laws is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
This habit of throwing people in jail for all eternity over minor and largely victimless infractions of the law is now actually moving past the "crazy" stage into truthfully dangerous territory. If you've got time to read this commentary, then you probably have time to visit Wikipedia and look up the article on the French Revolution. You'd be frightened at just how many historical parallels there are. To my fellow Canadians who might think those who've made posts here about revolution as being a little loony: it's really getting to the point where such a scenario might not be all that far-fetched.
Hopefully the political establishment wakes up from its lobbyist-filled nightmare soon and gets back in touch with those it serves.