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US Justice Department creates intellectual property taskforce
February 13, 2010 | 10:37 am
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By Paul Biba
Following a meeting between the Attorney General and Vice President, on one side, and The Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warners Brothers and Time Warner, Viacom, NBC Universal, Warner Music, Universal Music and Walt Disney, the Justice Department has agreed to establish and intellectual property task force. Other cabinet officials attended the meeting as well as a representatives from the publishing industry.
The task force will be chaired by the deputy attorney general and will coordinate with state and local law enforcement, as well as with the office of the current intellectual property enforcement coordinator, Victoria Espinel.
“Theft of intellectual property does significant harm to our economy and endangers the health and safety of our citizens,” said Vice President Biden. “This administration is committed to stronger and stricter enforcement of intellectual property rights, and this new task force is a step in the right direction.”
More info here, and the DoJ press release here.
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Comments:
The press release is typically vague about details… “making plans,” “extending efforts,” and “coordinating with law enforcement officials” is pretty hazy.
I expect we might hear more of this task force looking into DRM to solve problems, especially considering the corporations backing them…
I wonder how long it’s going to be until we see news footage of people in IPEA jackets busting down doors.
Wholesale copyright and trademark theft is a major industry in the US and elsewhere.
We’re not talking about someone making a copy of a movie for their own use. We’re talking a few people or a small company making thousands and thousands of copies of movies, etc., for their profit.
When flea market season starts here in the South, there are always reports of dozens of vendors being arrested for selling illegal copies of movies, non-licensed tee shirts with logos, etc.
Copyright and trademark theft is a large rat burrowing into the foundation of all forms of entertainment. If we don’t stop that rat, we all lose because movies, etc., aren’t made if they aren’t profitable.
Try to get this into your head, guys. The victim isn’t the guy stealing, it’s the person being stolen from who did all the work, paid all the costs of production, etc.
“endangers the health and safety of our citizens”
Really? How so?!
Xendula said, ““endangers the health and safety of our citizens”
Really? How so?!”
The article talks about organized crime organizations which aren’t known for their peaceful ways.
I’ve also read that IP theft has been used by terrorists to fund themselves.
It will wind up being a conspiracy of the corporations against the consumer. Last time, we wound up losing all kinds of fair use rights as a result of DRM. But they didn’t drill all the way down to the point where it became illegal to make copies of your own bought & paid for property, or to timeshift. Maybe that’s what we’ll lose this time around.
@ Marilynn:
“The article talks about organized crime organizations which aren’t known for their peaceful ways.”
Which article? All I saw in three articles was one mention of Chinese downloaders.
“I’ve also read that IP theft has been used by terrorists to fund themselves.”
Those are what Wikipedia would call ‘weasel words.’ Sources? Otherwise, I call B.S.
I find it interesting that after only two comments on the article, both being understandably concerned that 1) the VPOTUS don’t know the difference between infringement, piracy, and physical property theft and that 2) there were no representatives of consumer rights groups or technology advocates at the original conference, you chose to try to lecture all readers and writers at Teleread (“Try to get this into your head, guys.”) as if they were producing bootlegged DVD on their respective street corners. Really?
This smacks of an author equating readers of an ebooks blog, and by extension, ebook readers, as “pirates,” whatever that phrase even means anymore thanks to misinformation.
Reality check: the DoJ is now filled with ex-MPAA and RIAA lawyers who are using the government to strongarm consumers into accepting industry wishes as legal fact. If they had consulted even ONE non-profit company to discuss the written rights of consumers within copyright law, I would be a whole lot less skeptical of the whole venture.
Persephone said, “Which article? All I saw in three articles was one mention of Chinese downloaders.”
The Reuters article linked above said, “The task force is to coordinate with state and local law enforcement with an increased focus on links between piracy and international organized crime. It will also coordinate with the office of Victoria Espinel, the intellectual property enforcement coordinator.”
Persephone said, “Those are what Wikipedia would call ‘weasel words.’ Sources? Otherwise, I call B.S.”
Here’s one of many sources I found that mentioned studies that link international copyright theft rings to terrorism–
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000528473
Persephone said, “I find it interesting that after only two comments on the article, both being understandably concerned that 1) the VPOTUS don’t know the difference between infringement, piracy, and physical property theft and that 2) there were no representatives of consumer rights groups or technology advocates at the original conference, you chose to try to lecture all readers and writers at Teleread (”Try to get this into your head, guys.”) as if they were producing bootlegged DVD on their respective street corners. Really?
This smacks of an author equating readers of an ebooks blog, and by extension, ebook readers, as “pirates,” whatever that phrase even means anymore thanks to misinformation.
Reality check: the DoJ is now filled with ex-MPAA and RIAA lawyers who are using the government to strongarm consumers into accepting industry wishes as legal fact. If they had consulted even ONE non-profit company to discuss the written rights of consumers within copyright law, I would be a whole lot less skeptical of the whole venture.”
What I wanted you to get in your head is that piracy is big business that sucks billions of dollars out of the economy and hurts the creators who can least afford the loss.
This push from the US Government is going after the big guys of IP theft, not the individual petty thieves. What do consumer groups have to do with taking down organized crime? Were consumer groups involved when the FBI went after the Mafia? (The answer is “no” in case you are too young to remember.)
Most of the comments on this are the standard “it’s all about me” semi-paranoia that passes as discussions on copyright even though the task force has nothing to do with individual pirates, and the important people in the article say so. That’s what I said.
Copyright law and fair use are straight forward, and, if some agency or company tries to make it more or less than it is, the law handles that, and the consumer has options to deal with it.
If you don’t agree with their methods of handling copyright, you can buy from companies that don’t.
As to what you attribute to my own attitudes, you haven’t a clue. I believe that stealing, however you pretty it up with fancy words, is wrong, and that creators deserve to profit from their creations.
I believe that you have no more right to steal from me by pirating my books, than I have the right to steal your paycheck.
I also know what is and isn’t legal for the individual to do with copyrighted material because I have studied the copyright laws extensively so I know a pirate when I see one.
My publishers don’t use DRM when it can be avoided, they contracted world English rights so my books are available all over the world, and they price their products reasonably. That’s one reason I chose them.
I am also an ebook pioneer who entered this market almost twelve years ago so I understand ebooks and the market far better than most.
On Feb. 22, I mailed a letter to 18 D.C. office holders detailing how American IPR is being high-jacked by foreign mobile wireless manufacturers and with our own DOJ approval (Nov. 12, 2002) when they agreed with the EC to permit the establishment of a 5% cumulative royalty cap for 3G systems. Foreign manufacturers have shut out non-manufacturing businesses via this cap. I would like to post this 5 page letter here but I am not sure the site will allow the volume. I shall await your reply.
Richard Monahan
I am a small time author who has maybe a dozen novels out and the pirates steal hundreds of copies of my work and both I and my small publisher lose money every time they steal. It is NO different than their being shoplifters. This task force is long overdue.
Most countries in the third world never respects intellectual property rights. piracy is so rampant in asian countries.`,;