Over the weekend, Congress in a shameful act of service to the campaign contributions of the entertainment industry passed "PRO-IP" legislation that requires our government to work directly on the industry's behalf against the public interest. Under the deceptive banner of "intellectual property", the bill as passed has several unacceptable provisions.

Besides over $23 million in congressional campaign contributions, the industry used scare tactics to get it passed, trying to draw a connection between copyright infringement and...terrorism. The bill expresses the "Sense of Congress" as agreeing that "terrorists and organized crime utilize piracy, counterfeiting, and infringement to fund some of their activities;" and that stopping copyright infringement should be among the highest priorities of government. This attitude sets us up for a future world of Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and large-scale seizure of computer equipment the industry accuses of being involved in filesharing.

We have one more chance to stop this bill from becoming law. Bush has yet to sign it. Given the fact that his Department of Justice publicly objected to it earlier, Bush may veto it. But we can't count on that -- your calls and e-mails to the White House could make the difference.

Take Action

Help get the word out so more people know that now is a critical time. Pass this around to your friends and family, and:

Vote for it on digg

Vote for it on reddit

Call the White House at +1 202-456-1111 to leave your comment; then follow up with an e-mail to comments@whitehouse.gov. Please CC us at info@defectivebydesign.org.

When you call, you might say something like:

I'm very disappointed that Congress has put the PRO-IP / Enforcement of Intellectual Property bill on the President's desk. It's clearly a gift to the entertainment industry special interest groups in return for their massive congressional campaign contributions. The bill unconstitutionally attempts to specify how the executive branch should enforce copyright and trademark laws, and attempts to dictate the overall priorities of the Department of Justice. You should reject this and any other bill that describes itself as addressing "intellectual property" -- that term is always an indication that someone is trying to confuse the issue toward a particular agenda, since legal areas like patents, trademarks and copyright are all very distinct. I urge you to veto this bill, sending a clear signal to Congress that the MPAA and the RIAA will not dictate the behavior of our law enforcement agencies, and that you do not support this kind of attack on the public interest. Copyright in particular exists to promote the public interest in advancing science and the arts -- not hoarding and prosecution. The property seizure and other provisions in this bill just go too far.

Update: Over the weekend, Congress sadly has passed the bill. But it's not law yet -- stay tuned for our next step.

In addition to all of the emails and phone calls they received from you, Senator Leahy and friends received a stern rebuke from the Department of Justice in response to their suggestion that the DoJ should be doing the RIAA and MPAA's dirty work.The DoJ said:

We strongly oppose Title I of the bill, which not only authorizes the Attorney General to pursue civil remedies for copyright infringement, but to secure "restitution" damages and remit them to the private owners of infringed copyrights. First, civil copyright enforcement has always been the responsibility and prerogative of private copyright holders, and U.S. law already provides them with effective legal tools to protect their rights....

Second, Title 1's departure from the settled framework above could result in Department of Justice prosecutors serving as pro bono lawyers for private copyright holders regardless of their resources. In effect, taxpayer-supported Department lawyers would pursue lawsuits for copyright holders, with monetary recovery going to industry.

(EFF has a copy of the full letter.)

In response, the text of S. 3325 has now been updated to strike out the civil enforcement provisions. This is very good news, but other nasty parts of the bill remain.

Please digg this story to help get the word out about the remaining problems with the "Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act":

• It still has new and extremely broad provisions for seizing property like computers and servers. Such powers are notoriously abused to go on fishing expeditions, and since servers are often shared, people who are not even the targets of investigation will be hurt in the process.
• It still creates an Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. The title and responsibilities of this position are just as misleading and confusing as the bill, attempting to address issues like copyright and trademarks together when they should be addressed separately. Creating and maintaining this position is a severe misuse of public resources and gets the industry's foot in the door for future malicious action -- like promoting Digital Restrictions Management (DRM).
• It still creates five International Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinators. These positions are tasked with encouraging other countries to follow our lead, in an attempt to replicate the provisions of this bill and the corresponding industry control all over the world.
• It still commits $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 as grants to state and local law enforcement for doing "training and education programs." We all know what the RIAA's "training and education" programs look like. We shouldn't be funding distribution of their propaganda.
• It announces the "Sense of Congress" as agreement with the idea that such enforcement actions should be one of the government's highest priorities, and tries to paint achievement of the entertainment industry's selfish interest as one of the most pressing tasks facing our society. Any senator who agrees to such a statement must be directly in the industry's pocket. We know where Leahy stands -- on his top five contributors list from 2003-2008, we see Walt Disney, Time Warner, and Viacom. Congress should instead be committing itself to investigating the industry's underhanded, abusive and corrupting legal tactics.

It's also time for another round of phone calls, voicemails and emails to let our senators know that the bill is still unacceptable.

Please contact your senators again, as well as:

• Barak Obama -- (202) 224-2854
• John McCain -- (202) 224-2235

The timing here is critical, so don't worry if it's after office hours -- you can still leave a voicemail.

When you call or write, you might say something like:

Hello, my name is NAME and I'm a potential voter in STATE. I'm contacting you to reiterate my opposition to S. 3325, "The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act," sponsored by Senator Leahy. I know that recently the bill was changed to remove some parts that I opposed -- like those that would have had the Department of Justice filing civil suits for copyright infringement against citizens. I'm happy this change was made, but it's not nearly enough. The provisions mandating property seizure are far too broad, and would lead to substantial interference in legitimate work and to intimidation of lawful sharing. The new "Sense of Congress" section sums up exactly what's wrong with the bill -- maximizing the profits of the entertainment industry without regard to the immense negative impact these enforcement actions have on the public interest is the exact opposite of what the government should be doing. Copyright supposedly exists to promote and encourage effective ways to share knowledge and culture, not to inspire hoarding and prosecution. Please stand against the corrupting influence of the RIAA and MPAA, and in favor of the public interest -- vote no on S. 3325.

This bill is just one more in the long list of efforts by the entertainment industry to use their wealth and influence to corrupt our government. From the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to the Broadcast Flag, they are trying harder than ever to manipulate the law against the public in order to protect their own profits and prevent competition from the rapidly emerging DRM-free culture. DefectiveByDesign will be continuing to expose their efforts and the politicians who assist them.

Thanks to our friends at 2600 Magazine for their inspiration for our image on this post.