Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003 - Directs the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to: (1) develop a program (including suitable warnings) to deter members of the public from committing acts of copyright infringement by offering on the Internet copies of copyrighted works, or 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 such activities.
Requires the Attorney General to ensure that: (1) 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; and (2) each agent so assigned has received training in the investigation and enforcement of intellectual property crimes.
Establishes within the Office of the Associate Attorney General of the United States an Internet Use Education Program.
Amends Federal copyright law to make importation into the United States without the copyright owner's authorization of copies and phonorecords of a work that have been acquired outside the United State an infringement of the exclusive right to distribute such copies or phonorecords, regardless of whether that work has been registered with the Copyright Office or recorded with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) of the Department of Homeland Security. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Service to make regulations prohibiting such importations regardless of registration with the Copyright Office or recordation with the BCBP.
Directs the Attorney General to set forth criteria under which copyright owners designated by the Attorney General will be able to use the FBI seal for deterrent purposes in connection with physical and digital copies and phonorecords and digital transmission of their works of authorship.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2517 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
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
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Piracy Deterrence and Education Act
of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Internet, while changing the way our society
communicates, has also changed the nature of many crimes,
including the theft of intellectual property.
(2) Trafficking in copyrighted works through increasingly
sophisticated electronic means, including peer-to-peer file
trading networks, Internet chat rooms, and newsgroups,
threatens lost jobs, lost income for creators, lower tax
revenue, and higher prices for honest purchasers.
(3) The most popular peer-to-peer file trading software
programs have been downloaded by computer users over
200,000,000 times. At any one time there are over 3,000,000
users simultaneously using just one of these services. Each
month, on average, over 2,300,000,000 digital-media files are
transferred among users of peer-to-peer systems.
(4) Many computer users either do not know that copyright
laws apply to Internet activity or simply believe that they
will not be caught or prosecuted for their conduct.
(5) In addition, many of the computer users drawn to the
convenience of peer-to-peer systems do not realize that these
systems pose serious security and privacy threats to their
personal computers or company networks. Recent studies reveal
that the majority of the users of these systems are unable to
tell what files they are sharing and sometimes incorrectly
assume they were not sharing any files when in fact they were
sharing all files on their hard drive.
(6) The security and privacy threats posed by peer-to-peer
networks extend beyond users inadvertently enabling a hacker to
access files. Millions of copies of one of the most popular
peer-to-peer networks contain software that could allow an
independent company to take over portions of users' computers
and Internet connections and has the capacity to keep track of
users' online habits.
(7) In light of these considerations, it is important that
Federal law enforcement agencies actively pursue criminals who
steal the copyrighted works of others, and prevent such
activity through enforcement and awareness. It is also
important that the public be educated about the security and
privacy risks associated with being connected to an
unauthorized peer-to-peer network.
(8) In addition, the Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection of the Department of Homeland Security has the
authority to act against infringements of copyrighted works,
including those works protected under the Berne Convention and
the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
of the World Trade Organization. Under United States law,
merchandise can be seized by or forfeited to the Bureau of
Customs and Border Protection if ``it is merchandise or
packaging in which copyright, trademark, or trade name
protection violations are involved'' (section 596(c)(2)(C) of
the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1595a(c)(2)(C)).
(9) Though the regulations of the Bureau of Customs and
Border Protection (section 133.31 of title 19, Code of Federal
Regulations) provide that registered copyrighted works may be
recorded with the Bureau for ``import protection,'' recordation
is not explicitly required before infringing merchandise can be
seized or forfeited. Notwithstanding present legal authority,
there have been concerns raised about the authority of the
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to seize infringing
copyrighted materials that have neither been registered with
the United States Copyright Office or recorded with the Bureau.
(10) Neither United States nor foreign works require
registration with the Copyright Office for protection of the
copyright in those works. United States works require
registration only before an action for infringement is brought
under title 17, United States Code. A foreign work need not be
registered to bring such an action for infringement, and none
of the rights contained in title 17, United States Code,
including the right to control distribution in section 106 of
that title or importation under section 602 of that title, are
contingent upon registration. In accordance with the
international obligations of the United States barring the use
of formalities, United States law gives foreign copyright
owners direct access to United States courts and procedures
without resort to any registration requirement, and section 603
of title 17, United States Code, directs the Secretary of the
Treasury and the United States Postal Service to separately or
jointly make regulations for the enforcement of the provisions
of title 17, United States Code, prohibiting importation.
(11) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
section, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has been
unclear about its legal authority to seize infringing
copyrighted materials that have neither been registered with
the Copyright Office nor recorded with the Bureau. To provide
clarity, it is necessary to specify the authority of the Bureau
of Customs and Border Protection to seize infringing materials
protected by the copyright laws, with or without registration
or recordation.
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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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