Originally titled the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, the bill
(S3325)
passed the full Senate as the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 on September 25.
It aims to authorise the Attorney General to enforce civil copyright laws, enhance civil IP laws, provide for coordination and strategic planning of federal efforts against counterfeiting and piracy, and increase resources for key programmes within the Department of Justice to combat IP theft.
It was introduced in July 2008 by Senator Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Arlen Specter and was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last month by a vote of 14 to 4.
Before passing, Title I of the bill, "Authorization of Civil Copyright Enforcement by Attorney General" (which would have allowed the DOJ to bring civil actions "against anyone whose conduct constitutes criminal copyright infringement") was removed at the request of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon.
In a statement, Wyden said that the provision "would have had the effect of turning our federal law enforcement personnel into collections agents for industries that are more than capable of taking care of themselves".
Groups such as the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
and
Public Knowledge
adamantly oppose the bill.
The DOJ also opposes certain provisions, such as Title IV, which creates what many in the IP community are referring to as an IP tsar. According to the Department: "The statutory creation of an EOP [Executive Office of the President] coordinator with the duties described in the bill constitutes a legislative intrusion into the internal structure and composition of the President's Administration. This provision is therefore objectionable on constitutional separation of powers grounds."
Carole Handler of Wildman Harrold said that the new law provides companies "significant tools with which to combat the losses they suffer from unauthorised copying".
She added that the law would be beneficial to many sectors, including auto parts manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, software companies, and the fashion industry.
