[Ecommerce] FYI: Hearing on HR 2517: Piracy Deterrence and Education Act Thursday July 17

[Manon Anne Ress]

FYI: Thursday, July 17, 2003 Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and 
Intellectual Property -- 1:00 p.m. in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Legislative hearing on H.R. 2517, the “Piracy Deterrence and Education 
Act of 2003.”

A Bill "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"

Thanks to Alex Curtis (PK) for pointer on witnesses:

Jana Monroe: Ass. Director of Cyber Division, FBI
David P. Trust: CEO, Prof. Photographers of America
Linn Skinner, Proprietor, Skinner Sisters
Maren Christensen, Senior VP, IP Counsel, Universal Studios

Among other things, the bill eliminates requirement of registration of 
copyrighted works before filing for infringement by government and 
provide for public funds to have education campaigns called "Internet 
Use Education Program" to protect industries.

The text is available at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:h.r.2517:

H. R. 2517
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 19, 2003
Mr. SMITH of Texas (for himself, Mr. BERMAN, and Mr. CONYERS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
[SNIP]
SEC. 3. DETERRENCE AND COORDINATION.
       The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall--

             (1) develop a program to deter members of the public from 
committing acts of copyright infringement by--

                   (A) offering on the Internet copies of copyrighted 
works, or

                   (B) making copies of copyrighted works from the Internet,

             without the authorization of the copyright owners; and

             (2) facilitate the sharing among law enforcement agencies, 
Internet service providers, and copyright owners of information 
concerning activities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
paragraph (1).

       The program under paragraph (1) shall include issuing appropriate 
warnings to individuals engaged in an activity described in subparagraph 
(A) or (B) of paragraph (1) that they may be subject to criminal 
prosecution.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATION AND TRAINING OF AGENTS IN COMPUTER HACKING AND 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY UNITS.

       (a) DESIGNATION OF AGENTS IN CHIPS UNITS- The Attorney General 
shall ensure that any unit in the Department of Justice responsible for 
investigating computer hacking or responsible for investigating 
intellectual property crimes is assigned at least one agent to support 
such unit for the purpose of investigating crimes relating to the theft 
of intellectual property.

       (b) TRAINING- The Attorney General shall ensure that each agent 
assigned under subsection (a) has received training in the investigation 
and enforcement of intellectual property crimes.

SEC. 5. EDUCATION PROGRAM.

       (a) ESTABLISHMENT- There shall be established within the Office 
of the Associate Attorney General of the United States an Internet Use 
Education Program.

       (b) PURPOSE- The purpose of the Internet Use Education Program 
shall be to--

             (1) educate the general public concerning the value of 
copyrighted works and the effects of the theft of such works on those 
who create them;

             (2) educate the general public concerning the privacy, 
security, and other risks of using the Internet to obtain unauthorized 
copies of copyrighted works;

             (3) coordinate and consult with the Department of Education 
on compliance by educational institutions with applicable copyright laws 
involving Internet use; and

             (4) coordinate and consult with the Department of Commerce 
on compliance by corporations with applicable copyright laws involving 
Internet use.

SEC. 6. CUSTOMS RECORDATION.

       (a) REGISTRATION AND INFRINGEMENT ACTIONS- Section 411(a) of 
title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the first 
sentence the following: `An action for infringement of the copyright in 
any United States work shall not include any action brought by the 
Government of the United States or by any agency or instrumentality 
thereof.'.

       (b) INFRINGING IMPORTATION- Section 602(a) of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the end of the 
first sentence the following: `, regardless of whether that work has 
been registered with the Copyright Office or recorded with the Bureau of 
Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security'.

       (c) IMPORTATION PROHIBITIONS- Section 603(a) of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting before the period the following: 
`of copies or phonorecords of a work protected under this title, 
regardless of whether that work has been registered with the Copyright 
Office or recorded with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of 
the Department of Homeland Security'.


SEC. 7. INFRINGEMENT WARNING NOTICE.

       The Attorney General shall, within 3 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, set forth criteria under which copyright owners 
designated by the Attorney General will be able to use the seal of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation for deterrent purposes in connection 
with physical and digital copies and phonorecords and digital 
transmission of their works of authorship.





-- 
Manon Anne Ress
Consumer Project on Technology
www.cptech.org
PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
manon.ress@cptech.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176