[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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