WashingtonWatch.com - H.R. 4279, The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007

Comment by Matt (October 14, 2008, 01:00:00)

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

This is bullsh*t! Who cares about all that copyright crap, i hope this never happens....

Comment by Steve (October 12, 2008, 01:00:00)

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

What kinds of organizations, etc. will this bill fund to help crack down on copyright infringers?...

Comment by Bill (July 30, 2008, 01:00:00)

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Congress needs to STOP pandering to big media. Big media is currently attempting to set precedents in court which allow them to punish people without providing any proof that they are guilty. Research has already discovered that 20% of the people they target are actually innocent and yet big media takes no responsibility for the damage caused by their acts. In combination with the currently over-powered IP laws, this new bill will allow them to take your house whether you are guilty or not without providing a shred of evidence that you did anything wrong. Who in their right mind would support that situation? Are people so stupid they don't see the extreme abuse of power that is already happening even without this new legislation? I can't wait for the day that the RIAA takes the houses of some of these moronic supporters because their 10 year old downloaded a High-School Musical song one afternoon from a friend....

Revision by webmaster (July 25, 2008, 01:00:00)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

H.R. 4279 would enhance remedies for violations of intellectual property laws.

Detailed Summary

Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 - Title I: Enhancements to Civil Intellectual Property Laws - (Sec. 101) Amends federal copyright law to: (1) provide a safe harbor for copyright registrations that contain inaccurate information, unless there was knowledge of the inaccurate information and the inaccuracy of the information, if known, would have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration; (2) provide that copyright registration requirements apply to civil (not criminal) infringement actions; and (3) require courts to issue protective orders to prevent disclosure of seized records relating to copyright infringement.

(Sec. 104) Broadens the trademark infringement situations in which treble damages are allowed to include: (1) intentionally inducing another to violate a trademark; and (2) providing goods and services necessary to the commission of a violation with the intent that they be used in the violation. Doubles the minimum and maximum statutory damage limits for trademark infringement.

(Sec. 106) Prohibits the importing (current law), as well as the exporting, of infringing copies of copyrighted works.

Title II: Enhancements to Criminal Intellectual Property Laws - (Sec. 201) Amends the federal criminal code with respect to intellectual property to: (1) revise criminal penalties for infringement of a copyright by permitting repeat felony violations to be interchangeable, for trafficking in counterfeit labels or packaging, and for causing serious bodily harm or death while trafficking in counterfeit goods or services; and (2) revise current civil and criminal forfeiture provisions for copyright infringement, as well as add new restitution and forfeiture provisions.

(Sec. 203) Authorizes the United States Sentencing Commission to amend certain federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements regarding whether a defendant should receive an upward adjustment in the offense level on the grounds that exportation introduces infringing items into the stream of foreign commerce in a manner analogous to the manner in which manufacturing, importing, and uploading such items introduces them into the stream of commerce.

Title III: Coordination and Strategic Planning of Federal Effort Against Counterfeiting and Piracy - Subtitle A: Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative - (Sec. 301) Establishes within the Executive Office of the President the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (IP Enforcement Representative) to formulate a Joint Strategic Plan for combating counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property and for coordinating national and international enforcement efforts to protect intellectual property rights. Prohibits the IP Enforcement Representative from controlling or directing any law enforcement agency in the exercise of its investigative or prosecutorial authority in particular cases. Establishes an interagency intellectual property enforcement advisory committee to develop the Joint Strategic Plan against counterfeiting and piracy under subtitle B of this title.

Subtitle B: Joint Strategic Plan - (Sec. 321) Requires the IP Enforcement Representative to submit a Joint Strategic Plan against counterfeiting and piracy to the President and specified congressional committees every three years. Requires that the plan include programs to provide training and technical assistance to foreign governments to enhance those governments' efforts to enforce counterfeiting and piracy laws.

(Sec. 322) Requires an annual report on the Office's activities to the President, Congress, and the people of the United States.

(Sec. 323) Repeals provisions establishing the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council.

(Sec. 324) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.

Title IV: International Enforcement and Coordination - (Sec. 401) Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to appoint at least 10 additional intellectual property attaches to work with foreign countries to combat counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property. Sets forth provisions providing for the duties, assignment, and training of such attaches.

(Sec. 404) Requires the Department of Commerce's Inspector General to perform yearly audits of the intellectual property attaches and report to the House and Senate judiciary committees on the audit results, including regarding activities and effectiveness.

(Sec. 405) Authorizes appropriations for the training and support of the intellectual property attaches appointed under this title and of other Department of Commerce intellectual property attaches.

Title V: Department of Justice Programs - Subtitle A: Coordination - (Sec. 501) Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Intellectual Property Enforcement Division to be headed by an Intellectual Property Enforcement Officer (IP Officer).

Transfers to the Intellectual Property Enforcement Division the functions of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice that relate to the enforcement of criminal laws regarding intellectual property rights and trade secrets. Requires that the Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinators of the Department of Justice to whom this title applies also be in the Intellectual Property Enforcement Division.

Subtitle B: Law Enforcement Resources - (Sec. 511) Amends the Computer Crime Enforcement Act to: (1) modify grant programs for combating computer crime to include infringement of copyrighted works over the Internet; and (2) authorize appropriations for the grants.

Directs the Office of Justice Programs of DOJ to make grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to combat intellectual property theft and infringement crimes. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 512) Directs the Attorney General to: (1) review Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) units, provide such units with additional support and resources, and coordinate unit activities with corresponding state and local activities; and (2) direct each U.S. attorney to review policies for accepting or declining prosecutions of criminal cases involving intellectual property law violation.

(Sec. 514) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this subtitle.

Subtitle C: International Activities - (Sec. 521) Directs the Attorney General to deploy five additional Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinators in foreign countries to protect the intellectual property rights of U.S. citizens. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 522) Directs the Attorney General to increase DOJ training and assistance to foreign governments to combat counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property. Authorizes appropriations.

Subtitle D: Coordination, Implementation, and Reporting - (Sec. 531) Requires the IP Officer to ensure that activities undertaken under this title are carried out in a way consistent with the Joint Strategic Plan.

(Sec. 532) Directs the Attorney General to report to the House and Senate judiciary committees on actions taken to carry out this title, including regarding the IP Officer's activities.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 5/12/2008: Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Points in Favor

Removes a loop hole that minimizes copyright penalties for infringing compilations.
Creates WHIPER, which could reduce international piracy of U.S. copyrights.

Points Against

Increases already stiff domestic penalties, without providing any real mechanism for copyright owners to recover lost value.
Provides no remedies to owners of unregistered copyrights.
Strongly favors large content owners over small content owners.

Comment by Josh Taylor (July 23, 2008, 01:00:00)

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

I looked at the Senate version of this bill. We're all going to lose our homes. Send the senate version to Alex Jones....

Revision by webmaster (July 23, 2008, 01:00:00)

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

H.R. 4279 would enhance remedies for violations of intellectual property laws.

Detailed Summary

Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 - Title I: Enhancements to Civil Intellectual Property Laws - (Sec. 101) Amends federal copyright law to: (1) provide a safe harbor for copyright registrations that contain inaccurate information, unless there was knowledge of the inaccurate information and the inaccuracy of the information, if known, would have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration; (2) provide that copyright registration requirements apply to civil (not criminal) infringement actions; and (3) require courts to issue protective orders to prevent disclosure of seized records relating to copyright infringement.

(Sec. 106) Prohibits the importing (current law), as well as the exporting, of infringing copies of copyrighted works.

Title II: Enhancements to Criminal Intellectual Property Laws - (Sec. 201) Amends the federal criminal code with respect to intellectual property to: (1) revise criminal penalties for infringement of a copyright by permitting repeat felony violations to be interchangeable, for trafficking in counterfeit labels or packaging, and for causing serious bodily harm or death while trafficking in counterfeit goods or services; and (2) revise current civil and criminal forfeiture provisions for copyright infringement, as well as add new restitution and forfeiture provisions.

Title III: Coordination and Strategic Planning of Federal Effort Against Counterfeiting and Piracy - Subtitle A: Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative - (Sec. 301) Establishes within the Executive Office of the President the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (IP Enforcement Representative) to formulate a Joint Strategic Plan for combating counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property and for coordinating national and international enforcement efforts to protect intellectual property rights. Establishes an interagency intellectual property enforcement advisory committee to develop the Joint Strategic Plan against counterfeiting and piracy under subtitle B of this title.