PRO-IP Act
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The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 ("PRO-IP Act of 2007", H.R. 4279)[1], is a United States law that increases both civil and criminal penalties for trademark and copyright infringement. The law also establishes a new executive branch office, the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER).[2]
Provisions allowing the Department of Justice to conduct civil suits on behalf of private copyright holders and award the winnings to the holders were removed in the Senate, which then approved it unanimously, with some Senators absent.
[edit] Legislative history
On 2007-12-05 introduced into the House of Representatives by John Conyers. [3]
On 2008-05-08 the House of Representatives passed the bill 410 to 11. 2008 Presidential candidates Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are among those who voted against the bill.[4][5] The Senate bill was S 3325.[6]
On 2008-10-13 President George W. Bush signed the bill into law.
Preliminary punishments involve seizing of pirated copies and the device on which the copies are stored. Hefty fines may also follow.
[edit] Copyright czar
In September 2009, President Barack Obama appointed intellectual property scholar Victoria A. Espinel to be the first Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, a position informally known as the copyright czar. Her appointment was well received by Public Knowledge and by the United States Chamber of Commerce. As of September 2009, Espinel's appointment has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ OpenCongress - H.R.4279 PRO-IP Act of 2008
- ^ Congress' copyright reform: seize computers, boost penalties, spend money
- ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:H.R.4279:
- ^ "Ron Paul : Congress votes database : washingtonpost.com". http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/p000583. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ "Dennis Kucinich : Congress votes database : washingtonpost.com". http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/k000336/. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ "OpenCongress - U.S. Congress - S.3325 The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008". http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s3325/show. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ Kravets, David (2009-09-25). "Obama Appoints Scholar as New Copyright Czar". Wired. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/09/obama-taps-new-copyright-czar/. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
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