NOTE: The Senate passed S. 3325 on September 26th. Thanks to efforts by you and many others some of the worst parts of the bill were stripped before passage.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the green light to
S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act of 2008. We
need you to show them the red light, NOW! This intellectual
property enforcement bill lets the DOJ enforce civil copyright
claims and lets the government do the MPAA and RIAA’s copyright
enforcement work for them—at the taxpayers’ expense.
CLICK HERE TO CALL THE SENATE JUDICIARY MEMBERS NOW
CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR MEMBERS A FAX
By allowing the federal government to sue infringers in civil
court, the DOJ would be asking a court for monetary damages on
behalf of content owners. In a civil suit brought by the
government, the defendant loses many of the protections he
possesses in a criminal action—including his right to free legal
representation. What’s more, the government’s legal burden of
proof is lower: the government only needs to prove infringement
with a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning that it’s more
likely than not that infringement occurred, as opposed to the
usual criminal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Does the content industry need this help from the Department of
Justice? Absolutely not! In the last five years, the RIAA filed
or threatened more than 30,000 suits against alleged infringers.
If the Enforcement bill passes, not only will the number of such
suits increase—they’ll also be paid for with your tax dollars.
Now, the bill’s backers are pushing to have it pass the Senate as
early as today via a streamlined procedure, without the full
Senate voting on the measure. Tell members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee that you don’t want your tax dollars spent on
DOJ’s civil enforcement of copyright, and to put a hold on the
bill.
CLICK HERE TO CALL THE SENATE JUDICIARY MEMBERS NOW
CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR MEMBERS A FAX
To learn more about the Enforcement bill:
