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 -The Bush administration's Justice Dept. has weighed in against proposed legislation that would expand the agency's powers so that it could prosecute civil copyright infringement cases, Wired.com reported. "Civil copyright enforcement has always been the responsibility and prerogative of private copyright holders, and U.S. law already provides them with effective legal tools to protect their rights," reads a letter sent by the DOJ to bill sponsors Sens. Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter.

Washington - A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, a bill that would authorize the Attorney General to prosecute civil copyright infringement cases, and also includes measures to strengthen both civil and criminal copyright laws and beef up law enforcement resources to fight intellectual property crimes.

Washington - A bipartisan group of powerful lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would mitigate the legal risk and potential damages associated with the use of "orphan works," or songs, books or other copyrighted media where the creator or owner cannot be identified. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are sponsoring the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 in the Senate, while House Judiciary IP Subcommittee Chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced The Orphan Works Act of 2008 in the House.