House Passes Legislation Bolstering Intellectual Property Protection

House Judiciary Committe, Apr 27, 2005

House Passes Legislation Bolstering Intellectual Property Protection

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House today by voice vote approved legislation bolstering intellectual property protection. H.R. 3632, renamed the “Intellectual Property Protection and Courts Improvements Act of 2004,” incorporates the originally introduced H.R. 3632, H.R. 3754, H.R. 112, and H.R. 4646.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.), stated, “Efforts to ensure that consumers are able to know whether they are buying legitimate software, music, movies, and other forms of intellectual property are being subverted by those who counterfeit authentication labels and steal legitimate ones. These counterfeited and illicit labels are then attached to counterfeit products defrauding consumers into thinking that they have purchased a legitimate copy of the product, when they have not. The middleman who traffics in illicit and counterfeit labels can walk away from his crime with no penalties. H.R. 3632 would close this loophole and ensure that everyone who undertakes a scheme to defraud consumers faces criminal penalties.”

“In addition, this legislation provides for additional penalties for those who use false domain name contact information to commit crimes. As Internet-based crimes continue to increase in number, updated laws are needed to stop this growth,” continued Chairman Sensenbrenner.

H.R. 3632 ensures that those who use false domain name contact information in conjunction with a crime face additional penalties of up to seven years or double the underlying penalty, whichever is less.

H.R. 3632 now goes to the Senate for consideration