[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 90 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7522-S7523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS AGAINST THEFT AND EXPROPRIATION ACT OF 
                                  2004

  Mr. FRIST. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 485, S. 2237.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (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.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, today the Senate has taken a strong step 
forward to encourage the distribution of music, films, books, and 
software on the Internet. For too long the very ease of duplication and 
distribution

[[Page S7523]]

that is the hallmark of digital content has meant that piracy of that 
content is just as easy. The very real--and often realized--threat that 
creative works will simply be duplicated and distributed freely online 
has restricted, rather than enhanced, the amount and variety of 
creative works one can receive over the Internet.
  There is no single solution to the problem of copyright infringement. 
Part of combating piracy includes offering a legal alternative to it. 
Another important part is enforcing the rights of copyright owners. We 
have already taken some steps to do this. The Allen-Leahy Amendment to 
the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, on Combating Piracy of U.S. 
Intellectual Property in Foreign Countries, provided $2.5 million for 
the Department of State to assist foreign countries in combating piracy 
of U.S. copyrighted works. By providing equipment and training to law 
enforcement officers, the measure will help those countries that are 
not members of the OECD--Organization for Economic Cooperation & 
Development--to enforce intellectual property protections.
  The PIRATE Act represents another critically important part of the 
attack. It will bring the resources and expertise of the United States 
Attorneys' Offices to bear on wholesale copyright infringers. For too 
long these attorneys have been hindered in their pursuit of pirates, by 
the fact that they were limited to bringing criminal charges with high 
burdens of proof. In the world of copyright, a criminal charge is 
unusually difficult to prove because the defendant must have known that 
his conduct was illegal and must have willfully engaged in the conduct 
anyway. For this reason prosecutors can rarely justify bringing 
criminal charges, and copyright owners have been left alone to fend for 
themselves, defending their rights only where they can afford to do so. 
In a world in which a computer and an Internet connection are all the 
tools you need to engage in massive piracy, this is an intolerable 
predicament.
  The PIRATE act responds to this problem by allowing the United States 
to continue to enforce existing criminal penalties for intellectual 
property violations, while providing new civil copyright enforcement 
remedies to ensure that American creativity and expression continue to 
thrive. The availability of civil penalties allows prosecutors to help 
curtail widespread piracy, and at the same time recognizes that 
handcuffs for infringers is often not the appropriate response.
  Although we are debating several divisive issues during this 
Congress, I am pleased to see that we can all agree that the promise of 
the digital age can only be fulfilled if we empower our Federal 
prosecutors to protect the important rights enshrined in the Copyright 
Act. Senators Hatch, Schumer, Alexander and I recognize this need, and 
I thank them for working with me to produce this important, bipartisan 
piece of legislation.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third 
time and passed with no intervening action or debate and any statements 
relating to this measure be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2237) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2237

       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--
       (1) 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 subsection 
     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 Sates 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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