Smith's bill adds fangs to copyright laws
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/20/2003 12:58:00 PM
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, has introduced a bill to put some more teeth into enforcement of copyright laws, essentially updating enforcement to reflect the ease of copyright infringement in the age of the Internet.
Officially, the bill's tripartite goal is to "enhance criminal enforcement of the copyright laws, educate the public about the application of copyright law to the Internet, and clarify the authority to seize unauthorized copyrighted works."
The bill deals primarily with sharing over so-called peer-to-peer networks, where billions of files are traded, including illegal copies of copyrighted works such as moves, TV shows and music.
The legislation would direct the FBI and Justice Department to get the message out that bicycling copies of protected works on the Internet is illegal.
It would also charge Commerce with helping police corporations and the Department of Education with policing educational institutions.
Copyright owners would even get to use the FBI seal as a deterrent on physical and digital copies.
Motion Picture Association of America President Jack Valenti called the bill a "sensible step forward" in educating the public and giving the government the tools to better fight theft of intellectual property.
That fight, in an age of easy digital duplication, is one of MPAA's chief concerns.
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