House Bill Would Create Govt. Copyright Czar - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

From PC Magazine comes House Bill Would Create Govt. Copyright Czar:

Several members from both sides of the aisle – including Chairman John Conyers of Michigan and ranking member Lamar Smith of Texas – on Tuesday introduced a bill, H.R. 4279, that would further crack down on intellectual property violations, and create several new government positions with the power to enforce the new law."

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Specifically, the bill calls for strengthening the civil and criminal laws relating to copyright and trademark infringement. It would also create an intellectual property enforcement representative who would report to the White House, and establish a permanent intellectual property division within the Department of Justice. Intellectual property officers would also be granted the authority to work with international authorities for anti-piracy efforts.

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A provision in the bill allows the government to seize "any property used, or intended to be used, to commit or facilitate the commission of a violation … that is owned or predominantly controlled by the violator or by a person conspiring with or aiding and abetting the violator in committing the violation."

Those are the highlights. The article contains pro and con positions on the proposed law. I think protecting my client's trademarks important but I see the results of the RIAA litigation and think trademarks are about to go down the same route.