Obama Administration Proposes Increased Criminal Penalties for Intellectual Property Violations

 

The White House has published a White Paper proposing criminalization of many actions associated with intellectual property. It suggests greater rights and more severe penalties “so as to more effectively address the substantial harm caused by intellectual property crimes.”

In summary, the revisions include:

1. Longer prison sentences for theft of trade secrets, distributing counterfeit drugs, and intellectual property offences that “risk serious bodily injury.”
2. Stating that unlicensed streaming of copyrighted material is a felony;
3. Allowing wiretaps to pursue criminal copyright and trademark infringements;

Creating a right of public performance for copyright owners for sound recordings transmitted by over-the-air broadcast stations

The Obama Administration’s White Paper is here.White House Paper