Legal Niches

U.S. DOJ Launches IP Task Force

By pete_gallagher

In order to address copyright piracy, Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured) has launched a Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property.

Reuters reports that the new initiative came about following a meeting last December of Vice President Joe Biden, Holder and a veritable 'who's who' of members from the entertainment media, including representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Time Warner, NBC Universal, Universal Music and Walt Disney Co.

A full list of those who attended the summit can be found here.

The task force will work with state, local and international law enforcement to battle IP theft. Holder, in a statement added, 'The rise in intellectual property crime in the United States and abroad threatens not only our public safety but also our economic well-being.'

Biden added, "Theft of intellectual property does significant harm to our economy and endangers the health and safety of our citizens."

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) came out in favor of the task force, with President and CEO Michael Gallagher, who attended the meeting, stating, 'Intellectual property is the lifeblood and backbone of entertainment software. Consumers benefit with the lower cost, high-quality and more diverse title offerings that are made possible by strong measures protecting the creative works of our industry's artists.'

TechDirt labeled the original meeting (which led to the task force being formed) a 'one-sided, piracy summit,' and questioned the relationship between Biden and Hollywood.

Public Knowledge also took umbrage with the original meeting, saying, 'It is unclear why three cabinet officers, several subcabinet officers, the directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service are needed to tend to the worries of the big media companies, particularly the motion picture industry which is completing a year in which it will set box-office records.'

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on February 16, 2010 (boomark / email).