December 5, 2008
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House

H.R. 107, Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act
Sponsor: Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va.
Introduced: Jan. 7, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce; Judiciary
Description: H.R. 107 would specify consumers' "fair use" rights to copyrighted materials such as music and movies. The bill also would modify the part of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that makes it illegal to circumvent copyright-control technologies, and it would require recording companies to clearly label items that include such technologies. Bill sponsor Rick Boucher, D-Va., first filed such legislation late in the 107th Congress.
H.R. 1066, Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations (BALANCE) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
Introduced: March 4, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 1066 aims to protect consumers' "fair use" rights to digital content that they purchase. The bill would give consumers the ability to make personal copies of digital music, movies and books despite technologies that copyright holders deploy to protect digital rights. The bill is an attempt to rectify concerns about the consumer impact of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, specifically provisions that do not let consumers circumvent copy-protection technologies that manufacturers install to prevent piracy.
H.R. 1417, Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: March 25, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 1417 would create three copyright royalty judgeships to replace the current arbitration panels that rule on royalty disputes. The measure would designate three judges for staggered, six-year terms to replace Copyright Arbitration Royalty panels. The original bill would have authorized the Librarian of Congress to name a single judge for a five-year term and two full-time assistants to rule on royalty rates and other matters. The goals of the legislation are to save money for parties involved in arbitration, who currently pay arbitrators $200 to $400 an hour, and to bring stability and expertise to the royalty arbitration process. A House Judiciary subcommittee approved the bill by voice vote on May 20, 2003.
H.R. 1561, U.S. Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: April 2, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 1561 would raise various fees for patent and trademark applications and reserve the funds for use by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The fees would jump by about 15 percent, generating $201 million more for PTO. The bill seeks to address complaints about fees paid to PTO being diverted to unrelated federal projects. Appropriators could not divert any of the new fees. The measure also seeks to encourage electronic filing of patent applications by offering lower fees for Internet-based applications.
H.R. 2255, Untitled
Sponsor: Rep. David Price, D-N.C.
Introduced: May 22, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2255 would extend, from 2003 to 2004, the deadline for non-commercial webcasters to pay for putting digital sound recordings on their Web sites. The Library of Congress set a royalty rate for webcasting in 2002, but non-commercial firms argue that the rate would force them to close their Web sites.
H.R. 2344, Intellectual Property Protection Restoration Act
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: June 5, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2344 would allow people to sue states for violating intellectual property rights. The measure lists promoting technological innovation as one of its goals. Backers of the bill and the Senate companion measure, S. 1191, said a Supreme Court ruling makes the legislation necessary.
H.R. 2391, Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: June 9, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2391 seeks to clarify patent law to protect collaborative efforts that could lead to new technologies and other innovations. The measure would extend to multiple organizations or individuals the patent protection currently given to single entities. The House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee approved the legislation on July 22, 2003.
H.R. 2494, United States-Cuba Trademark Protection Act
Sponsor: Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.
Introduced: June 17, 2003
Committee: House International Relations; Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2494 seeks to ensure that the United States and Cuba meet their obligations under international agreements on involving trademarks. The measure would repeal a section of 1999 spending legislation that abrogates an agreement allowing intellectual property protection in Cuba. The bill would instruct the Patent and Trademark Office to create a registry for U.S. trademarks owners seeking to protect their marks in Cuba.
H.R. 2517, Piracy Deterrence and Education Act
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: June 19, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary Committee
Description: H.R. 2517 seeks to bolster the FBI's power to combat illegal file sharing of copyrighted material over peer-to-peer computer networks. The measure, supported by the Recording Industry Association of America, would instruct the FBI to develop a public-awareness campaign aimed at deterring consumers from making illegal copies of protected works, such as movies or songs, and sharing those materials online. It also would allow for the prosecution of intellectual property violations, even if the works are not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
H.R. 2601, Public Domain Enhancement Act
Sponsor: Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
Introduced: June 25, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2601 would allow the public to freely use copyrighted works 50 years after they are first protected. The measure would require copyright owners to pay a $1 fee to maintain their rights beyond that time and to renew the copyrights every 10 years after that. The goal is to move more works into the “public domain” and to encourage the creation of new works.
H.R. 2752, Author, Consumer and Computer Owner Protection and Security (ACCOPS) Act
Sponsor: Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Introduced: July 16, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 2752 seeks to increase intellectual property protections by authorizing more funding to address such issues and improving information sharing among law enforcement authorities. The measure would make it a federal crime to record movies in theaters without authorization or to provide fraudulent contact information when registering Internet addresses. It also would clarify that it is a felony to share copyrighted material over a publicly accessible network, and it would require file-sharing Web sites to get customers' consent to run on personal computers software that searches for content.
H.R.2885, Protecting Children from Peer-to-Peer Pornography (P4) Act
Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa.
Introduced: July 24, 2003
Committee: House Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 2885 would mandate parental notification before minors could access file-sharing software because of the concerns about such software making it easier to access pornography. The bill would call upon the FTC to draft rules to warn people about the dangers of file-sharing software.
H.R. 3035, Medication Errors Reduction Act
Sponsor: Rep. Amo Houghton, R-N.Y.
Introduced: Sept. 9, 2003
Committee: House Ways and Means; Energy and Commerce
Description: H.R. 3035 would authorize the Health and Human Services Department to make grants for technology improvements to healthcare systems. Grant money would be used for: purchasing, leasing, and installing computer software and hardware, including handheld computer technologies; improving current software and hardware; purchasing or leasing communications capabilities necessary for clinical data access, storage and exchange; and educating and training eligible staff in patient-safety information systems. The bill would specify that the technology purchased should utilize an “open source” format, where the programming code of the software is freely available to anyone who seeks to obtain copies.
H.R. 3261, Database and Collections of Information Misappropriation Act
Sponsor: Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C.
Introduced: Oct. 8, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 3261 is designed to stop database competitors from taking collections of information and re-using them in competition with their original assemblers. Since a 1991 Supreme Court decision, database publishers like Reed Elsevier have relied primarily on state misappropriation laws to challenge the piracy of their databases. That decision, Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service, affirmed that factual information cannot be copyrighted. The bill would subject people who access or share information from databases without permission to civil action or fines in federal courts.
H.R. 3632, Anti-Counterfeiting Amendments
Sponsor: Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas
Introduced: Nov. 21, 2003
Committee: House Judiciary
Description: H.R. 3632 would prohibit the production of counterfeit documents or packaging that are affixed to products such as copied computer programs or movies to make them appear as though they are the genuine product. Penalties for knowingly distributing counterfeit products would include fines and up to five years in prison.

Senate


S. 692, Digital Consumer Right To Know Act
Sponsor: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Introduced: March 24, 2003
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 692 would require that companies producing compact discs, e-books, digital videodiscs and other digital content to notify customers of any anti-piracy technologies that would limit consumers’ use of the content. Bill sponsor Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the legislation would make a clear statement that Congress expects competition in the retail distribution of copyrighted digital content.
S. 1121, Middle East Trade and Engagement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Introduced: May 22, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1121 would give certain Middle Eastern countries preferential access to the U.S. market. To be eligible, the countries would have to support the U.S.-led war on terrorism and pursue economic reforms, such as strengthening protections for intellectual property. The president would what countries qualify. The bill lists 18 countries for consideration, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Yemen.
S. 1191, Intellectual Property Protection Restoration Act
Sponsor: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Introduced: June 5, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1191 would allow people to sue states for violating intellectual property rights. The measure lists promoting technological innovation as one of its goals. Backers of the bill and the House companion measure, H.R. 2344, said a Supreme Court ruling makes the legislation necessary.
S. 1621, Consumers, Schools and Libraries Digital Rights Management Awareness Act
Sponsor: Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
Introduced: Sept. 16, 2003
Committee: Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Description: S. 1621 encompasses a series of proposals aimed to protect the rights of people who buy digital music and media products. First, the measure would require the owners of digital media products to ask courts for information on anonymous Internet subscribers who are suspected of copyright violations. That language was prompted by the recording industry’s pursuit of individuals suspected of online music piracy. The legislation also would prevent a requirement that digital devices include copyright controls, a legislative approach sought by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) last year. The provision would prohibit the FCC from requiring equipment manufacturers to incorporate copyright-control technologies, undermining the key element of the "broadcast flag" the agency approved in 2003. And the bill would require the FTC to create an advisory committee to study how anti-piracy technologies impact consumers, educational institutions and libraries.
S. 1911, Untitled
Sponsor: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
Introduced: Nov. 20, 2003
Committee: Senate Finance
Description: S. 1911 would force countries that receive special access to the U.S. market to make their intellectual property laws stronger than current international standards in order to reflect new technologies such as the Internet. The legislation would raise the standard for protecting intellectual property rights in various programs under which the United States offers lower or no tariffs for certain products entering the United States from least-developed and developing countries. The proposal would affect: the Generalized System of Preferences, which involves imports from about 40 least-developed nations, mostly in Africa; the Andean Trade Preference Act, and the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.
S. 1932, Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention (ART) Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas
Introduced: Nov. 22, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1932 would it a federal crime to use camcorders to tape movies in theaters. The maximum penalty would be three years in jail. The bill also would impose criminal and civil penalties, including fines of up to $2,500 per infringement, for unauthorized distribution of "pre-release" movies. The act seeks to combat the widespread Internet distribution of movies.
S. 1933, Enhancing Federal Obscenity Reporting and Copyright Enforcement Act
Sponsor: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
Introduced: November 22, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 1933 would grant an antitrust exemption to the recording industry and music publishers so they could negotiate copyright royalties for new digital formats. One element of the music industry's campaign against Internet piracy is to find a legal means of distribution, like pre-loading digital songs onto computer hard drives or introducing audio versions of digital versatile discs, commonly known as DVD-audio. The measure seeks to bolster that effort. The bill also would settle a lingering dispute about calculating damages for piracy and authorize $5 million in annual funding for the Justice Department to assemble more data about copyright infringement.
S. 2002, United States-Cuba Trademark Protection Act
Sponsor: Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Introduced: Dec. 9, 2003
Committee: Senate Judiciary
Description: S. 2002 attempts to improve and promote Cuba’s compliance with international intellectual property obligations. Under the bill, the secretary of State would have to contact Cuban officials to get assurances that they will comply with intellectual property standards in various treaties. The secretary also would have to ensure that Cuba intends to comply with the dispute-resolution policy established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for Internet addresses from Cuba. And the director of the Patent and Trademark Office would have to establish registries for trademarks owned by U.S. citizens and registered in or submitted for registration in Cuba. The registries would have to be available online, and the trademark process would have to be accessible electronically.

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