• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 11, 2008

Digital rights groups are rallying against a proposed new copyright law that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to consider Thursday, Sept. 11.

The bill, Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008 (S. 3325), would authorize the Department of Justice to bring civil lawsuits against alleged file-sharers and other copyright infringers. Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) introduced the measure.

Organizations including Public Knowledge, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Digital Future Coalition said in a letter sent to lawmakers on the judiciary committee that the law would confer "an enormous gift of federal resources to large copyright owners."

The groups argue that Hollywood and the record industry don't need the government's help to target file-sharers or other copyright infringers. "The recording industry has threatened or filed over 30,000 lawsuits against individual consumers," the letter states. "There is absolutely no reason for the federal government to assume this private enforcement role."

Some opponents also say the bill could scare innovators from pushing the boundaries of copyright or trademark law. "All kinds of people who have good-faith reasons to think that the enterprises they are engaged in are legitimate ones, which comply with intellectual property laws, may nevertheless be chilled from beginning them," said Peter Jaszi, co-founder of the Digital Future Coalition.

Currently, it can be difficult to determine whether a particular activity violates intellectual property laws. For instance, figuring out whether courts will think an author has infringed someone else's copyright or made fair use of another's work is notoriously difficult. This uncertainty leads companies to settle some close cases, but the Justice Department would have the resources to pursue even borderline claims.

"Being hauled into court on a civil copyright claim is scary enough, but the idea that you would be hauled into court and have to litigate against an adversary who has unlimited resources is really scary," says Jaszi, a law professor at American University.

Sherwin Siy, an attorney with Public Knowledge, adds that the bill could have "unintended consequences." Among them, it potentially subjects property of companies that are not themselves infringing--such as online service providers--to forfeiture orders, Siy said.

The Motion Picture Association of America and other groups expressed support for the bill this summer, when it was first introduced.

Many provisions of the bill overlap with the Pro-IP Act, which passed in the House earlier this year.