In addition to strengthening both civil and criminal penalties for copyright and trademark infringement, the big development here is the proposed creation of the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER). This is a new executive branch office tasked with coordinating IP enforcement at the national and international level. To do this work internationally, the bill also authorizes US intellectual property officers to be sent to other countries in order to assist with crackdowns there. In addition, the Department of Justice gets additional funding and a new unit to help prosecute IP crimes.
Congress' copyright reform: seize computers, boost penalties, spend money [Ars Technica]
RELATED: Contact Information For 50 Politicians Who Take Campaign Money From The RIAA
Congressmen Who Took Money From The RIAA Send Chiding Letters To Universities
Now, drop your MP3 player on the ground.
Ok, frisk him Joe."
"Well, well, will you look at this Sarge. He's got a radio wired to a cassette recorder in his other pocket. They're going to throw the book at him now."
]]>Just stop please. The Recording Industry and the RIAA are so corrupt that I do not buy their product anymore and I hope others do the same until you, them, and everyone else get the point that your monitoring and policing of intellectual property is not wanted in any way, shape, or form.
I will NEVER support the RIAA in the same way that I will also NEVER give a politician any of my money.
]]>We sure have our priorities in the right place.
]]>Although if they are, please direct me to the nearest such tree.
]]>@Murph1908: They come with lawyers. They come with lobbyists. Gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning! Destroyers and usurpers, curse them!
Yeah, we could use a few Ents about now...
]]>Too bad we as Americans don't have the discipline to do that.
]]>I could agree with this IF they rolled the copyright law back to say 1939 before Disney got the laws changed to the current state....
]]>John Conyers (D-MI), sponsor
Accepted $5000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $2500 from Clear Channel, $4000 from Comcast, $6000 from DirecTV, $2000 from Natl Music Publishers Assn, $1000 from Viacom
Howard L. Berman (D-CA), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $4600 from National Music Publishers, $1000 from Time Warner, $2000 from UMG, $1000 from Warner, $2500 from Consumer Electronics Assn
Steve Chabot (R-OH), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $1000 from ASCAP, $2000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters, $5000 from National Cable & Telecommunications Assn, $1000 from Time Warner
Steve Cohen (D-TN), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from Sony Pictures Entertainment, $1000 from MPAA, $1000 from UMG
Tom Feeney (R-FL), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $1000 from ASCAP, $1000 from MPAA, $1000 from RIAA, $1000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters, $1000 from Sony Pictures, $1000 from Time Warner, $2000 from UMG
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), cosponsor
Accepted $1500 from ASCAP, $1500 from MPAA, $1000 from RIAA, $1000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters, $1500 from Sony, $1500 from Time Warner
Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $1000 from UMG
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters
Ric Keller (R-FL), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from ASCAP, $1000 from MPAA, $1000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters, $1000 from RIAA, $1000 from Sony, $2000 from UMG, $1000 from Viacom, $1000 from Warner
Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $1000 from ASCAP, $1000 from MPAA, $2000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters, $1000 from National Music Publishers Assn, $1000 from RIAA, $1000 from Sony Pictures, $1000 from Time Warner, $1000 from UMG, $1500 from Viacom, $1000 from Warner
Lamar Smith (R-TX), cosponsor
Accepted $1500 from ASCAP, $4000 from Clear Channel, $1000 from MPAA, $2500 from RIAA, $2000 from Sony Pictures, $2000 from Time Warner
Robert Wexler (D-FL), cosponsor
Accepted $1000 from American Intellectual Property Law Assn, $1000 from ASCAP, $1000 from MPAA, $1000 from Natl Assn of Broadcasters, $1630 from RIAA, $2000 from Sony Pictures, $2000 from UMG, $1000 from Viacom, $1500 from Warner Music
I find it disturbing how little these congresspeople can be bought out for!!
]]>Time to just steal the physical media. Shoplifting is cheaper if you get caught.
]]>You know what happens with every single new government entity? They feel the need to justify their existence. 3 guesses how these guys would try to accomplish that. We already have laws for these things. Enforcement on a digital system *is not possible* with out invading our privacy or crippling our hardware.
]]>Politicians like these are moving us further and further toward a fascist state. The issue SHOULD be a purely civil matter. But now we the taxpayers get to fund a overreaching government agency so they can police specifically for the MPAA and RIAA? Bullshit!
The guy playing Harry Potter is slated to get $50 million for the next two movies... with money like this flying around, I have no sympathy for a corrupt industry like the entertainment industry.
]]>