[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2237 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2237
To amend chapter 5 of title 17, United States Code, to authorize civil
copyright enforcement by the Attorney General, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2004
Mr. Leahy (for himself and Mr. Hatch) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 5 of title 17, United States Code, to authorize civil
copyright enforcement by the Attorney General, and for other purposes.
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 ``Protecting Intellectual Rights
Against Theft and Expropriation Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF CIVIL COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY
GENERAL.
(a) In General.--Chapter 5 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 506 the following:
``Sec. 506a. Civil penalties for violations of section 506
``(a) In General.--The Attorney General may commence a civil action
in the appropriate United States district court against any person who
engages in conduct constituting an offense under section 506. Upon
proof of such conduct by a preponderance of the evidence, such person
shall be subject to a civil penalty under section 504 which shall be in
an amount equal to the amount which would be awarded under section
3663(a)(1)(B) of title 18 and restitution to the copyright owner
aggrieved by the conduct.
``(b) Other Remedies.--
``(1) In general.--Imposition of a civil penalty under this
section does not preclude any other criminal or civil
statutory, injunctive, common law or administrative remedy,
which is available by law to the United States or any other
person;
``(2) Offset.--Any restitution received by a copyright
owner as a result of a civil action brought under this section
shall be offset against any award of damages in a subsequent
copyright infringement civil action by that copyright owner for
the conduct that gave rise to the civil action brought under
this section.''.
(b) Damages and Profits.--Section 504 of title 17, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by inserting ``, or the Attorney
General in a civil action,'' after ``The
copyright owner''; and
(ii) by striking ``him or her'' and
inserting ``the copyright owner''; and
(B) in the second sentence by inserting ``, or the
Attorney General in a civil action,'' after ``the
copyright owner''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, or the
Attorney General in a civil action,'' after ``the
copyright owner''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, or the
Attorney General in a civil action,'' after ``the
copyright owner''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 5 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 506 the following:
``506a. Civil penalties for violation of section 506.''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR TRAINING AND PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Training and Pilot Program.--Not later than 180 days after
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall develop a program to
ensure effective implementation and use of the authority for civil
enforcement of the copyright laws by--
(1) establishing training programs, including practical
training and written materials, for qualified personnel from
the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys Offices
to educate and inform such personnel about--
(A) resource information on intellectual property
and the legal framework established both to protect and
encourage creative works as well as legitimate uses of
information and rights under the first amendment of the
United States Constitution;
(B) the technological challenges to protecting
digital copyrighted works from online piracy;
(C) guidance on and support for bringing copyright
enforcement actions against persons engaging in
infringing conduct, including model charging documents
and related litigation materials;
(D) strategic issues in copyright enforcement
actions, including whether to proceed in a criminal or
a civil action;
(E) how to employ and leverage the expertise of
technical experts in computer forensics;
(F) the collection and preservation of electronic
data in a forensically sound manner for use in court
proceedings;
(G) the role of the victim copyright owner in
providing relevant information for enforcement actions
and in the computation of damages; and
(H) the appropriate use of injunctions,
impoundment, forfeiture, and related authorities in
copyright law;
(2) designating personnel from at least 4 United States
Attorneys Offices to participate in a pilot program designed to
implement the civil enforcement authority of the Attorney
General under section 506a of title 17, United States Code, as
added by this Act; and
(3) reporting to Congress annually on--
(A) the use of the civil enforcement authority of
the Attorney General under section 506a of title 17,
United States Code, as added by this Act; and
(B) the progress made in implementing the training
and pilot programs described under paragraphs (1) and
(2) of this subsection.
(b) Annual Report.--The report under subsection (a)(3) may be
included in the annual performance report of the Department of Justice
and shall include--
(1) with respect to civil actions filed under section 506a
of title 17, United States Code, as added by this Act--
(A) the number of investigative matters received by
the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys
Offices;
(B) the number of defendants involved in those
matters;
(C) the number of civil actions filed and the
number of defendants involved;
(D) the number of civil actions resolved or
terminated;
(E) the number of defendants involved in those
civil actions;
(F) the disposition of those civil actions,
including whether the civil actions were settled,
dismissed, or resolved after a trial;
(G) the dollar value of any civil penalty imposed
and the amount remitted to any copyright owner; and
(H) other information that the Attorney General may
consider relevant to inform Congress on the effective
use of the civil enforcement authority;
(2) a description of the training program and the number of
personnel who participated in the program; and
(3) the locations of the United States Attorneys Offices
designated to participate in the pilot program.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2005 to carry out this section.
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