White House to Propose New Copyright Laws to Congress

According to a C|Net report, the Obama administration has drafted a new set of proposals to deal with intellectual property infringement online that it plans to send to the U.S. Congress very soon. The administration is also applauding  the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which it says will "aid right-holders and the U.S. government to combat infringement" once it enters into effect.

As the C|Net report notes, the 92-page report penned by intellectual property enforcement coordinator Victoria Espinel reads as if it was ghost-written by lobbyists groups. There is some interesting data in there like the fact that the number of FBI and Homeland Security infringement investigations jumped 40 percent from 2009 to 2010, praise for ACTA, and details on various law enforcement operations.

Naturally, the usual circles in congress (read: pro industry, pro lobbyists, pro taking campaign contributions from various entertainment industries) applaud the White House report:

"I'm committed to strengthening the laws that promote investment, innovation and creativity at home," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who chairs the House subcommittee that writes copyright law. "I share the view that our criminal and IP laws need to be modernized to ensure that legitimate online commerce is not crippled by rampant piracy and counterfeiting, much of which originates overseas."

Of course, Democrats are enthusiastic when it comes to supporting IP rights holders too. After all, they take the lion’s share of contributions coming out of Hollywood.

You can read the full report here (PDF).