In a welcomed update to a story we posted two weeks ago (TMT News), the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act Bill -- approved last Friday by the Senate -- seems geared for a veto after the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce issued a joint statement September 23, 2008 voicing concerns over the increased bureaucracy and the weakened separation of powers mandated by the bill.
According to Wired's David Kravets:
The White House successfully lobbied the Senate to remove language tasking the Department of Justice with suing copyright and trademark infringers on behalf of Hollywood, the recording industry, manufacturers and software makers. But the Bush administration also doesn't want a copyright czar, a position on par with the nation's drug czar Congress created in 1982 to wage the War on Drugs. Lawmakers, however, sent him the package anyway.
The EIPRA would grant federal prosecutors with the authority to pursue file-sharers in violation of copyright laws and create an IP Enforcement Coordinator within the executive branch — an intrusion into federal authority and federal spending which would afford copyright holders with pro bono representation from Department of Justice prosecutors. And remember, we live in an era of “fiscal responsibility,” as the DoJ’s letter states.
(BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, the potential veto on the EIPRA bill totally ruins the wicked awesome, yet wholly imaginary “The RIAA is Conspiring with the Federal Government to Eradicate All Traces of Internet Privacy in a Desperate Ploy to Recoup Diminishing Revenue / Name that Tune Contest!” So, I guess by default, the prize goes to the Department of Justice for stickin’ it to the RIAA. And to teddy bear companies, screw those guys. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read our first story on this bill so you don't miss out on my sharp wit!)
