Will The Feds Interest in Copyright Infringement Spell Relief For Authors?

In response to the recent debacle over the Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) security manual being posted online for everyone in the world to see, the U.S. Government is scrambling to protect their intellectual property.  Join the club!  The publishing industry has been scrambling for over a decade or more. If I scramble anymore you might as well lay a piece of ham next to me and a slice of toast.

 In the past month or so, several government agencies have posted a multitude of jobs and proposals for contract work pertaining to cyber security.  Even the U.S.  Border Customs and Border Patrol is seeking requests for informational and planning purposes for information rights/digital rights  management of their intellectual property.

 Even Congress signed a Bi-Partisan Bill which will provide $30 million in new funding to help prop up the newly passed Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act or (the PRO-IP Act).  The funds include $20 million for new state and local economic, high-tech and Internet crime prevention grants, which could see us giving up our cell phones at the popcorn counters at the movies; $8 million for new FBI agents targeting intellectual property crimes; and $2 million for new Department of Justice IP prosecutions.

Here are some of the new provisions provided by the new Pro-IP Act :

* Creation of a an Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) within the Executive Office of the President.  This person will oversee the development and implementation of a Joint Strategic Plan against counterfeiting and piracy and also advise the President on enforcement policy.

*Seizure or forfeiture of personal property such as a computer or hardware used to carry out a copyright crime could be seized by the Justice Department and auctioned off.

*A fine can be imposed on those found guilt of copyright infringement with the maximum penalty for infringement being $30,000.  In addition “multiple awards of statutory damages” can also be sought by those whose ownership rights have been infringed.

Yes this bill goes further than the E.Us current Anti-Piracy Bill, which calls for banning a person up to a year off the internet, but in my opinion it provides a huge loophole for file sharing websites (sites that allow people to share files, i.e., music, movies, books and only Satan knows what else) to continue to do what their doing without any legal recourse. 

In my opinion file sharing sites are the major offenders because they provide a drop off point or means of connection for strangers to meet and commit the offense.  Then they’re able to hide behind some flimsly exemption that as long as they are unaware of the files being downloaded they’re not held liable. 

With the obliteration of these sites, it would be harder for people to troll for books or to barter hundreds of copies in one sitting.  Unfortunately, since we are at the infancy of this new Bill only time will tell and more royalties will be lost for those of us in the book industry. 

So, what are your thoughts will authors finally see some relief and fatter royalty statements one day or should we just continue to pop Tums?