Washington - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, which would give the Justice Dept. authority to prosecute civil copyright cases, expand seizure powers in civil copyright cases, and create a Cabinet-level "piracy czar" to coordinate all of the government's various anti-piracy initiatives. The bill was lauded by Hollywood, and criticized by librarians and consumer and digital civil liberties groups including Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who in a joint letter sent to the Committee called the bill an "enormous gift of federal resources to large copyright owners with no demonstration that the copyright owners are having difficulties enforcing their own rights."

To date, the major record labels represented by the RIAA have sued over 30,000 individuals for copyright infringement on file-sharing networks.

A very similar House version of the bill passed last year, although that version did not include the provision extending Justice Dept. prosecutorial authority in civil copyright cases.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill by a 14-4 vote; the bill is now expected to come before a vote in the full Senate.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/3pfnk (Ars Technica)

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/senate-committe.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10039238-38.html

http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1732