Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007

This proposed legislation is “To enhance remedies for violations of intellectual property laws, and for other purposes.”  Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (MI.) introduced the bill on the congressional floor on December 5, 2007.  Fifteen other representatives acted as co-sponsors of the bill.

This bill revises federal copyright law by providing a safe harbor for copyright registrations that contain inaccurate information. It mandates courts to issue protective orders to prevent disclosure of seized records pertaining to copyright infringement.  It contains provisions for revised standards for civil damages in copyright infringement and counterfeiting cases. Other revisions to the federal copyright law include the prohibition of importation and exportation of infringing copies of copyrighted works, and the application of copyright registration requirements to civil, and not criminal, infringement actions.

The bill likewise proposes amendatory provisions to the federal criminal code with respect to intellectual property. Specifically, it increases criminal penalties for copyright infringement, trafficking in counterfeit labels or packaging, and for causing serious bodily harm or death on the occasion of such trafficking. Other sections provide for increased criminal forfeiture penalties for copyright infringement, as well as for restitution to victims of such infringement.

A section of the proposed legislation deals with the establishment within the Department of Justice (DOJ) of an Intellectual Property Enforcement Division.  An Intellectual Property Enforcement Officer (IP Officer) will head this division.

Under this bill, the Attorney General must review Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) units and provide such units additional support and resources.  The Attorney General must also deploy five additional Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinators in other countries in order to increase protection for the intellectual property rights of U.S. citizens from abroad.  Further, the Attorney General must increase DOJ training and assistance to foreign governments to fight counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property.

After its introduction on December 5, 2007, Congress referred the bill to the House Committee on the Judiciary.  On December 7, the Committee referred it to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.  After holding hearings, the Subcommittee forwarded the bill to the full Committee on March 6, 2008.

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