[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE NO ELECTRONIC THEFT [NET] ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 1997

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the No 
Electronic Theft [NET] Act of 1997, along with three of my colleagues 
from the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the 
Committee on the Judiciary, Representatives Coble, Frank, and Cannon. I 
would like to thank not only Chairman Coble and ranking member Frank 
for supporting this important legislation, but also a new and very 
valuable member of the subcommittee, Chris Cannon of Utah.
  This legislation will close a loophole in our Nation's criminal 
copyright law, and will give law enforcement the tools it needs to 
bring to justice individuals who steal the products of America's 
authors, musicians, software producers, and others. Additionally, the 
bill will promote the dissemination of creative works online and help 
consumers realize the promise and potential of the Internet.
  The Internet is a tremendous opportunity. Its growth and development 
are contributing to the economic expansion we have enjoyed in the last 
few years. Its true potential, however, lies in the future, when 
students and teachers can access a wealth of high quality information 
through the click of a computer mouse, and businesses can bring the 
benefits of electronic commerce to consumers. Before this can happen, 
creators must feel secure that when they use this new medium, they are 
protected by laws that are as effective in cyberspace as they are on 
main street.
  The NET Act of 1997 clarifies that when Internet users or any other 
individuals sell pirated copies of software, recordings, movies, or 
other creative works, use pirated copies to barter for other works, or 
simply take pirated works and distribute them broadly even if they do 
not intend to profit personally, such individuals are stealing. 
Intellectual property is no less valuable than real property. As an 
example of the problems that creators are currently facing, I have 
attached an article from the Electronic Engineering Times, discussing 
the theft of recordings on the Internet.
  Pirating works online is the same as shoplifting a video tape, book, 
or computer program from a department store. Through a loophole in the 
law, however, copyright infringers who pirate works willfully and 
knowingly, but not for profit, are outside the reach of our Nation's 
law enforcement officials. This bizarre situation has developed because 
the authors of our copyright laws did not and could not have 
anticipated the nature of the Internet, which has made the theft of all 
sorts of copyrighted works virtually cost-free and anonymous.
  The Internet allows a single computer program or other copyrighted 
work to be illegally distributed to millions of users, virtually 
without cost, if an individual merely makes it available on a single 
server and points others to the location. Other users can contact that 
server at any time of day and download the copyrighted work to their 
own computers. It is unacceptable that today this activity can be 
carried out by individuals without fear of criminal prosecution.
  Imagine the same situation occurring with tangible goods that could 
not be transmitted over the Internet, or an individual making millions 
of photocopies of a best-selling book and giving them away. Imagine 
copying popular movies onto hundreds of blank tapes and passing them 
out on every street corner, or copying your personal software onto 
blank disks and freely distributing them throughout the world. Few 
would disagree that such activities are illegal--that they amount to 
theft and should be prosecuted. We should be no less vigilant when such 
activities occur on the Internet. We cannot allow the Internet to 
become the ``Home Shoplifting Network''.
  The NET Act of 1997 makes it a felony to willfully infringe a 
copyright by reproducing or distributing 10 or more copyrighted works, 
with a value of at least $5,000, within a 180-day period, regardless of 
whether the infringing individual realized any commercial advantage or 
private financial gain. It also clarifies an existing portion of the 
law that makes it a crime to willfully infringe a copyright for profit 
or personal financial gain. It does so by specifying that receiving 
other copyrighted works in exchange for pirated copies--bartering, 
essentially--is considered a form of profit and is as unlawful as 
simply selling pirated works for cash. In other words, if you take a 
pirated work, such as a software program, and trade it on the Internet 
and eventually barter to the point where you have a $5,000 portfolio of 
software, the bill considers such bartering to be a criminal act--just 
as if you had sold the stolen software for $5,000. In addition, the NET 
Act expressly calls for victim impact statements during sentencing and 
directs the sentencing commission to determine a sentence strong enough 
to deter these crimes.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States is the world leader in intellectual 
property. We export billions of dollars' worth of creative works every 
year in the form of software, books, video tapes, sound recordings, and 
other products. Our ability to create so many quality products has 
become a bulwark of our national economy. By closing this loophole in 
our copyright law, the NET Act sends the strong message that we value 
the creations of our citizens and will not tolerate the theft of our 
intellectual property.

                          ____________________