Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Bipartisan Bill to Combat Copyright Infringement and Counterfeits

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation to combat copyright infringement and the sale of counterfeit goods online.

The bipartisan Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act was introduced in September by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and senior Republican member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).  The Committee voted unanimously, 19-0, to send the legislation to the full Senate for consideration.

The bill provides law enforcement with important tools to stop websites dedicated to online piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods.

The illegal products offered through these websites, which are often foreign-owned and operated, range from new movie and music releases, to pharmaceuticals and consumer products.  Intellectual property theft costs the U.S. economy more than $100 billion every year, according to estimates, and result in the loss of thousands of jobs.

“Rogue websites are essentially digital stores selling illegal and sometimes dangerous products.  If they existed in the physical world, the store would be shuttered immediately and the proprietors would be arrested,” said Leahy.  “We cannot excuse the behavior because it happens online and the owners operate overseas.  The Internet needs to be free – not lawless.  The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act will give the Department of Justice a new and more efficient process for cracking down on rogue websites, regardless of where overseas the criminals are hiding.”

“The Internet serves as the glue of international commerce in today’s global economy. But it’s also been turned into a tool for online thieves to sell counterfeit and pirated goods, making hundreds of millions of dollars off of stolen American intellectual property,” said Hatch.  “This legislation that garnered unanimous support from Democrats and Republicans alike in the Judiciary Committee will help in our continued fight against online piracy and counterfeiting. Allowing industry stakeholders and law enforcement officials to better coordinate their efforts will allow us to better target those who are profiting from this illegal and costly activity.”

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act will give the Department of Justice an expedited process for cracking down on websites that are dedicated to making infringing goods and services available.

The bill will authorize the Department of Justice to file an in rem civil action against a domain name, and seek a preliminary order from the court that the domain name is being used to traffic infringing material.

The bill also provides safeguards allowing the domain name owner or site operator to petition the court to lift the order, and safeguards against abuse by allowing only the Justice Department to initiate an action, and by giving a federal court the final say about whether a particular site would be cut off from supportive services.

The bill has received strong support from labor unions, the Newspaper Association of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Attorneys General Intellectual Property Committee, the music, movie and television industries, authors and publishers, and anti-piracy organizations such as the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy and the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act is cosponsored by Judiciary Committee members Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Senators George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

In June, the Senate Judiciary Committee held the first oversight hearing with the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), Victoria Espinel.  The IPEC was established by the 2008 Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act.  The Coordinator chairs an inter-agency committee, and was tasked with producing a joint strategic plan to combat piracy and counterfeiting.  The PRO-IP Act was designed to address intellectual property rights enforcement concerns and to protect American innovation and advancement.

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