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Senate IP bill set to advance (Updated) - July 30, 2008

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a markup meeting for Thursday, with more than a dozen bills and resolutions slated for a vote. Among the bills on the agenda is the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act (S.3325), which was introduced only last week by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VM), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and a bipartisan group of co-sponsors. Given the quick jump from introduction to markup--and the fact that it was jointly introduced by the chairman and ranking member of the committee--it's a fair bet the votes are there to pass it out of committee. If reported out on Thursday, it could presumably get to the Senate floor sometime in September, following Congress's August recess.

Should it pass the full Senate, it would likely be paired with the PRO IP Act, which passed the House overwhelmingly in May. The biggest difference between the House and Senate bills, which presumably would have to be resolved in conference, is that that Senate version gives the Department of Justice authority to bring civil cases against alleged copyright infringers, which carry a lower burden of proof than criminal cases, the ordinary purview of the department. The idea has been a pet cause for Leahy, who first introduced it in 2004.

Critics call that akin to turning the Justice Department into "an arm of the legal departments of the entertainment companies by authorizing DOJ to file civil lawsuits for infringement, forcing taxpayers to foot the bill."

Coincidentally, Media Wonk happened to tape an interview on Tuesday with the Register of Copyrights, Marybeth Peters, for the CSPAN series The Communicators (tentatively scheduled to air this Saturday, check your local listings). We ran out of time before I could ask her about the idea of giving DOJ that authority. But when I asked her later, off camera, she noted that the idea has been "near and dear to Senator Leahy's heart for some time," calling him "a great friend to the Copyright Office." Officially, however, she said her office has not taken a position on the question one way or the other.

I read her response as an indication that she doesn't think it's such a hot idea to involve the Justice Department in what amounts to private litigation, but she doesn't want to have to say so on the record out of respect for Leahy.

LATE UPDATE (7/31): The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act and several of the other bills scheduled for markup by the Judiciary Committee Thursday morning got held over until the next meeting. Since the Senate goes into its August recess after this week, no next meeting can be scheduled until September.


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