Washington - The heads of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on Wednesday introduced the Performance Rights Act, bipartisan legislation that would remove traditional radio's exemption from paying performers in addition to songwriters, which is not the case for satellite or Internet radio, or for many foreign broadcasters. "For the past 70 years Congress has ignored the constitutional mandate that we protect copyrights by completely exempting broadcasters from paying performers, while the vast majority of countries have no such exemption. Our ignorance of intellectual property rights on this issue is a worldwide embarrassment and it must end now," said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), a co-sponsor of the House bill.

Washington - A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a new bill that would increase civil penalties for copyright infringement, bolster criminal enforcement, and create a new federal agency tasked with copyright protection, CNET News.com reported.

Washington - In a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative sent on Monday, six lawmakers -- including House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers -- said the U.S. should consider altering its ban on Internet gambling instead of paying compensation to countries who say the U.S. is violating trade agreements, Reuters reported.