White House Announces IP Enforcement Strategy

On March 15, 2011, the Administration issued its White Paper On Intellectual Property Enforcement Legislative Recommendations, which provides 20 legislative proposals and actions to be taken in connection with the goals set forth in the Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement. (You can see my previous coverage of the the Joint Strategic Plan here.)

Among the legislative recommendations:

• Stricter criminal penalties for copyright infringement
• Include specific language to provide for copyright infringement for streaming video over the Internet as a felony
• Allow for wiretaps by authorities for criminal copyright and trademark violations
•  Allow Customs to work with intellectual property rights holders to provide pre-seizure information to determine whether products are infringing
• A series of statutes to provide greater protection against counterfeit pharmaceuticals;
• Allowing Customs to issue penalties for infringing exports and imports;
• Allow for relief for voluntary disclosure to Customs of unintentional acquisitions of infringing goods; and
• A right of public performance for sound recordings transmitted over broadcast radio.

A full copy and explanation of the recommendations are available on the White House website.

Of note, is the continued concern regarding infringement for streaming video over the Internet as a felony. Following the UFC v. Justin.tv lawsuit, The Hurt Locker lawsuits, and ICE’s domain name seizures.

This issue was not the focus of the previous Joint Strategic Plan but has quickly become a priority.