The Obama administration unveiled a government-wide intellectual property strategy to crack down on piracy and the sale counterfeit goods today in Washington. The plan calls for adding more than 50 FBI agents by the end of the year that will be dedicated to tackling the "problem of intellectual property infringement." Vice-President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Drugs Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg attended the meeting. The plan also calls for the U.S. government to target web sites in other countries - we assume - through international cooperation.

Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel said that her office will review current efforts to curb intellectual property infringement of U.S. goods abroad, particularly in China which is a major source of counterfeit goods. According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection report published last year, 79 percent of fake goods seized by officials emanated from.

The Copyright Alliance has penned a letter to President Obama and Vice President Biden asking the Administration to “pursue policies of the rights of artists.”

The dispatch has been posted to the group’s website and is presented as a call to action, allowing artists and creators to sign the letter. At the time of this post, over 7,700 copies of the letter had been personalized.

The letter notes the following about those who affixed their signatures:

We enrich our culture with a wide range of creative expression, including music, film, software, video games, writing, photography, graphics, and other visual arts.

An appeal at the end of the communication implores Obama and Biden to:

Please pursue policies supportive of the rights of artists and the encouragement of our creative efforts. Without the proper respect for our rights and works today, it will become even more difficult for us to create in the future.

The campaign was drafted in response to The President naming Victoria Espinel as Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, a move the Alliance called “a strong sign,” and one they will be “watching with optimism.”  The Alliance intends to deliver the letter this fall.

Clearly, Vice-President Joe Biden does not read GamePolitics.

If he did, he would have already known that President & Mrs. Obama got their daughters Malia and Sasha a Holy Grail Wii for Christmas.

From the Los Angeles Times:

One White House official recalls the vice president fretting over what to get Obama for his 48th birthday earlier this month. Biden wanted to go with a Nintendo Wii. Told that Obama's daughters already have one, a disappointed Biden said, "You're kidding." Instead, he went with a golf range-finder to help the president judge distances to the hole.

Via: Kotaku

Where do the leading presidential candidates stand on video game issues?

Ben Silverman of Yahoo! Games summarizes the positions of the top three candidates from both parties. Included in the recap is Democrat John Edwards, who announced yesterday that he is dropping out.

Of the remaining candidates, Silverman writes:
 

Compared to his more conservative opponents, [John] McCain is a viable option for Republican gamers, although his ties to [frequent game critic Sen. Joe] Lieberman are worth noting.

Obscenity laws? Societal cesspools? Unless you're wracked with gamer guilt, [Mitt] Romney is one hard sell.

[Mike Huckabee is] no Mitt Romney. That's gotta count for something.

Despite her good intentions, Hillary's scary track record might be enough to dissuade gamers from putting another Clinton in office.

[Barack] Obama is more skeptical of how violent games affect behavior than his rivals, and in turn seems less inclined to legislate right off the bat. That should ring true with gamers.