[Infowarrior] - Proposed Copyright Law a 'Gift' to Hollywood

[Richard Forno]

Proposed Copyright Law a 'Gift' to Hollywood, Info Groups Say
By David Kravets EmailSeptember 10, 2008 | 5:06:36 PM

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/proposed-copyri.html

A dozen special-interest groups urged lawmakers Wednesday to squelch  
proposed legislation that for the first time would allow the U.S.  
Justice Department to prosecute civil cases of copyright infringement.

Oxy The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act, (.pdf)  
scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday,  
also creates a Cabinet-level copyright-patent czar charged with  
creating a worldwide plan to combat piracy. The czar would "report  
directly to the president and Congress regarding domestic and  
international intellectual property enforcement programs."

The bill, a nearly identical version the House passed last year, is  
strongly backed by the music and movie industries. The House and  
Senate versions encourage federal-state anti-piracy task forces, the  
training of other countries about IP enforcement and, among other  
things, institute an FBI piracy unit.

In a letter to the Judiciary Committee, the groups said granting the  
Justice Department the power to file civil lawsuits on behalf of  
Hollywood and others is "an enormous gift" to copyright holders.

"Movie and television producers, software publishers, music  
publishers, and print publishers all have their own enforcement  
programs," the letter (.pdf) said. "There is absolutely no reason for  
the federal government to assume this private enforcement role."

The dozen groups include American Association of Law Libraries,  
American Library Association, Consumer Federation of America,  
Consumers Union, Digital Future Coalition, Electronic Frontier  
Foundation, Essential Action, IP Justice, Knowledge Ecology  
International, Medical Library Association, Public Knowledge and  
Special Libraries Association.

The House version does not contain language granting the Justice  
Department the ability to sue copyright infringers. The department  
does prosecute criminal acts of infringement, although rarely.

If the Senate version becomes law, it is not immediately clear how the  
Justice Department's expanded powers would work in practice. For  
example, would the department assume the role of the Recording  
Industry Association of America, which has sued more than 30,000  
people in the United States for copyright infringement since 2003?