The bill aims to criminalise file-sharing; to demand funding for the Justice Department to initiate an internet use education program; and to give the FBI powers to create an anti-piracy program that will warn those caught infringing copyright and share information about such incidents with copyright owners, enforcement agencies and ISPs.
According to the bill, those who make available: over $1,000 in copyrighted materials; 1,000 or more copies of copyrighted material; one or more copies of copyrighted materials worth $10,000 in value; or one or more copies of one copyrighted pre-release material, shall be liable to a maximum of 3 years imprisonment – or 6 years for a second or subsequent offence.
The trigger-level of $1,000 of copyrighted materials approximates to making available the tracks on around 70 albums. Those convicted shall also be liable to a fine, up to a maximum of $250,000.
The intellectual property subcommittee of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee passed the bill on Wednesday, but it still has a long way to go before it becomes law.
First, the bill must be approved by the full Judiciary Committee. Then it faces the scrutiny of Congress and the Senate.
The news was welcomed by the Recording Industry Association of America. Chief Executive Mitch Bainwol commented, "This is a common sense bill that ensures that federal prosecutors have the tools and expertise to fully enforce the laws on the books".