Anti-Piracy Bill Passes House Subcommittee

by Janette Spencer-Davis, Legal Editor, CCH Copyright Law Reports   

  The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property passed the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007, or PRO IP Act, on March 7, 2008. The bill would strengthen the government's hand in the war on intellectual property crimes by creating a White House coordinator of federal anti-piracy efforts. Before the subcommittee passed the bill by a voice vote, it was stripped of a controversial provision that would have increased fines for compilation CDs containing pirated music by 10 times or more. With the provision, which was strongly desired by the recording industry, fines for a 10-song compilation CD would range from $7,500 to $1.5 million, instead of the current $759 to $150,000.

Without the provision, penalties for copyright infringement would still be increased, including a doubling of damages in counterfeiting cases, with the maximum penalty for a counterfeiting offense rising to $2 million. The bill would create the White House Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (WHIPER), and create an intellectual-property division in the U.S. Department of Justice. The bill will now move to the full House Judiciary Committee. A similar bill introduced in the Senate last fall has yet to be acted upon.

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