Congress must set limits on copyright infringement...
Congress must set limits on copyright infringement rewards, encourage voluntary rights-protection systems and classify unauthorized Internet streaming as a felony, witnesses said in testimony prepared for a Thursday hearing by the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet.…
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High statutory damages in copyright infringement cases have had “two unintended consequences,” said Computer & Communications Industry Association Vice President for Law and Policy Matt Schruers. “They empower copyright trolls and create extraordinary liability risks that discourage tech innovation, particularly by start-ups,” he said. To ameliorate these consequences, Congress should encourage more investment in “robust voluntary rights-protection systems for right-holders,” he said. “Congress already encourages the use of such systems via Section 512, limiting relief against compliant services.” But it could go further by specifying which remedies “are made available to plaintiffs who do not take advantage of these voluntary systems designed to reduce litigation.” Congress can also reduce the incentives to pursue litigation by ensuring “statutory damages be limited to a reasonable multiplier of actual harm,” said Sherwin Siy, vice president-legal affairs at Public Knowledge. “Congress could also adjust the existing minimum and maximum awards amounts, or set caps on awards,” he said. “These adjustments could be tied to particular fact patterns, such as cases involving personal, noncommercial uses of works, or scenarios like secondary liability.” Congress must also be wary of those committing copyright infringement, said David Bitkower, acting deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division. The newest problem is infringement through Internet streaming, Bitkower said. Congress has previously updated copyright law to address new copyright infringement techniques, he said, pointing to the Artists’ Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005. “Internet streaming, however, generally implicates a different right -- the right to public performance, violations of which currently correspond only to misdemeanor charges,” he said. Bitkower said the administration supports Congress’ passing legislation to classify Internet streaming copyright violations as a felony.