The Justice Department would be able to file civil lawsuits against people who trade copyright content over peer-to-peer networks like Kazaa, under a bill called the “PIRATE Act,” which is currently moving through Congress.
The Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation Act allows the Department of Justice to exercise its existing enforcement powers through a civil, rather than criminal, enforcement proceeding, the bill says.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).
“It is critical that we bring the moral force of the government to bear against those who knowingly violate the federal copyrights enshrined in our Constitution,” Hatch said in a statement.
The bill mandates the Attorney General to develop a training and pilot program to ensure effective implementation and use of the authority for civil enforcement of the copyright laws. In addition, the bill authorizes $2 million for the development of the pilot program for the fiscal year of 2005.
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