Biden To Head Piracy Protection Update

Vice President Joe Biden will be meeting with Attorney
General Eric Holder, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, U.S. Intellectual
Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel and industry and public
interest stakeholders to provide an update on administration efforts to protect
intellectual property.

Combating online piracy has been one of the Vice
President's issues. He headlined a press conference with Espinel last June
outlining the administration's strategic plan for protecting intellectual
property, including TV shows and movies online.

The government plan
includes: 1) not mistakenly using illegal products itself; 2) transparency in
policy development and sharing info; 3) improved coordination; 4) better
enforcement of property rights globally, including more help for businesses
trying to enforce their IP rights abroad; 5) securing the supply chain,
including tackling foreign-based Web sites that offer pirated content; 6) spend
its IP enforcement money wisely.

Also on the guest list for the Friday meeting are Verizon
Chairman Ivan Seidenberg, Thomas Rothman, co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment,
and Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.