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Cracking Down on Video and Audio Piracy
Although the Internet offers limitless possibilities for easier, broader and potentially cheaper access to movies, songs, and software, it also provides users with a sophisticated weapon for abuse.
High quality, yet illegal, copies of copyrighted materials can be, and are, distributed easily and almost instantly via email systems, peer-to-peer networks, and similar electronic means to million of online users.
That’s why in 2003, I introduced the Artists’ Rights and Theft Prevention Act (ART Act) to crack down on the video and audio piracy that is having a damaging impact on the entertainment industry. In April 2005, this legislation was signed into law as part of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005.
The law has two major provisions:
- First, it is now a federal crime to videotape movies in theaters without authorization.
- Second, it is easier for prosecutors to convict individuals who put pre-released material on the Internet or for aggrieved parties to file lawsuits.
The solutions to protecting intellectual property are not always simple. Some claim that people might accidentally make copyrighted music available on the Internet through peer-to-peer software, or that others may not realize that the material they are sharing is copyrighted at all.
As a result, it is sometimes hard to reach consensus on these issues, even though we think it is a quite clear that a vast number of people who use peer-to-peer networks to distribute music, movies, or other material know that what they are doing is wrong, and that it is illegal.
Nevertheless, we want to stop the illegal videotaping of movies, which everyone realizes is wrong, and the illegal pre-release of copyright-protected material to the public. The ART Act aims to protect the entertainers who produce great movies, music and media.
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