WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a 69-page bill that would increase civil penalties and criminal enforcement for copyright infringement and create a federal agency to oversee crackdowns.
"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 bipartisan legislation introduced Wednesday is called the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act, or the PRO IP Act. Sponsors include Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee; Howard Berman, D-Calif., chair of the subcommittee that writes copyright law; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.
The PRO IP Act seeks to increase fines in copyright cases dealing with compilations. The current maximum penalty for infringement of one compilation is $30,000. The bill would allow courts to make "multiple awards of statutory damages" when compilations are infringed.
Maximum penalties for repeat copyright offenders would be easier to obtain under the PRO IP Act.
Current law states that anyone who "willfully" infringes a copyright by distributing more than $1,000 worth of material - including sharing over peer-to-peer networks - is a criminal. The PRO IP Act maintains the 10-year prison term for felonious repeat offenders, but removes the requirement that repeat offenders must have distributed at least 10 copyrighted works within 180 days.
Additionally, the PRO IP Act would empower the Department of Justice to seize and auction any computer or network hardware used to "facilitate" a copyright crime. Proceeds from the auctions would be funneled into the DOJ budget. The process, called civil-asset forfeiture, typically does not call for the property owner to have been found guilty of a crime.
The PRO IP Act also would create the White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative, or WHIPER. The head of WHIPER would be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
WHIPER is said to resemble the U.S. Trade Representative, with the head of the new agency bearing the rank of "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary." WHIPER's head would be the president's principal adviser and spokesman for intellectual-property matters and identifying countries that don't adequately protect intellectual-property rights.
WHIPER also would create a "Joint Strategic Plan" that includes making an annual report to Congress - on Dec. 31 of each year - to identify individuals involved in the "trafficking" of "pirated goods." Ten "intellectual-property attaches" also would to be dispatched to embassies around the world.
Additionally, the PRO IP Act would revamp the Department of Justice's apparatus for intellectual-property enforcement. An "Intellectual Property Enforcement Division" would be created and take over the intellectual-property-related functions currently performed by the computer-crime section in the DOJ's criminal division. The new division would receive $25 million per year.
The bill arrives on the heels of a jury verdict won by the Recording Industry Association of America against a Minnesota woman who shared 24 songs on Kazaa.
The Motion Picture Association of America, another supporter of strong copyright laws, applauded the PRO IP Act.
"I believe that the American business community can speak in one voice today in support of these legislative efforts to protect intellectual property," MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman said in a statement. "I am pleased to see a concerted effort by Congress to address this growing problem, and the MPAA looks forward to working with congressional leaders in the weeks to come."
