President Bush signs a bill to stiffen penalties for movie and music piracy and create an intellectual property czar, despite opposition from the Justice Department.WASHINGTON (Reuters)—President George W. Bush signed into law on Monday a
bill that would stiffen penalties on movie and music piracy at the federal
level.
The law creates an intellectual property czar
who will report directly to the president on how to better protect copyrights
both domestically and internationally. The Justice Department had opposed the
creation of this position.
The Justice Department had said the position would undermine its authority.
The law also toughens criminal laws against piracy and counterfeiting.
The Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association
of America backed the bill, as did the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"By becoming law, the PRO-IP Act sends the message to IP criminals
everywhere that the U.S.
will go the extra mile to protect American innovation," said Tom Donohue,
president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce.
Counterfeiting and piracy costs the United
States nearly $250 billion annually,
according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by
Bernard Orr)
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