Intellectual Property Enhanced Criminal Enforcement Act of 2007

Rep. Steve Chabot (OH) introduced this bill, together with three co-sponsors, on July 24, 2007.  The proposed legislation is “to amend titles 17 and 18, United States Code, to strengthen the protection of intellectual property, and for other purposes” and may be cited as the “Intellectual Property Enhanced Criminal Enforcement Act of 2007.”  Upon its introduction, Congress referred the bill to the House Judiciary Committee. The last major action was its referral to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security on August 10, 2007.

The bill contains 19 sections, and lays down provisions that would amend certain sections of titles 17 and 18 of the United States Code (“Code”).  Section 2 is entitled “Registration in Civil Infringement Actions” and seeks to amend sections 411 and 412 of title 17 of the Code, particularly the provisions regarding civil infringement actions.  Sections 3 (“Civil Remedies for Infringement”), 4 (“Statutory Damages”), and 6 (“Criminal Infringement”) amend sections 503(a), 504(c)(1), and 506(a) and (b) of title 17 of the Code, respectively, where the amendments consist of insertions or deletions of certain words or paragraphs.

Of note, the legislation adds a third paragraph under section 506(a) of title 17 providing for “Attempt” and “Conspiracy.”  Similarly, the proposed legislation provides for longer periods of penalty than previously imposed under section 18 of the Code, as stated in Sections 12 (“Criminal Infringement of Copyright”), Section 13 (Unauthorized Fixation and Trafficking in Reproductions of Live Musical Performances”), Section 14 (“Unauthorized Recording of Motion Pictures”), and Section 15 (“Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods and Services”), where the period of penalty is increased by about two times.

Section 16 pertains to “Forfeiture, Destruction, and Restitution,” which provides for civil and criminal forfeiture of “any infringing, counterfeit, illicit, or misappropriated article” for any offense defined in title 17, namely ‘any property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of an offense referred to” under Section 16, and “any property constituting or derived from any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of an offense referred to” in the subsection. This portion of the bill also provides for destruction of “any forfeited article or component of an article bearing or consisting of a counterfeit mark” or “of any infringing items or other property” as described in the bill at the conclusion of the forfeiture proceedings set out therein.

Section 17 (“Improved Investigative and Forensic Resources for Enforcement of Laws Related to Intellectual Property Crimes”) provides for the creation of an operational unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to work on crimes related to the theft of intellectual property and a Task Force to “develop and implement a comprehensive, long-range plan to investigate and prosecute international organized crime syndicates engaging in or supporting crimes relating to the theft of intellectual property.”

The United States Attorney General is also tasked “to ensure that any unit in the Department of Justice responsible for investigating computer hacking or intellectual property crimes is assigned at least 2 agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in addition to any agent assigned to such unit as of the date of the enactment of this Act) to support such unit for the purpose of investigating or prosecuting intellectual property crimes.”  To carry out the purposes of this proposed legislation, additional funding of $44,000,000.00 will be allocated.

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