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.

The Entertainment Consumer Association issued a call to action today asking members to tell congress that we do not need additional "warning labels" on video games.

Earlier this week Rep. Joe Baca (D CA-43), along with Rep. Frank Wolf introduced a bill that would put warning labels on video games similar to the kinds of warning labels found on cigarettes. Here's the entirety of the alert (which can be found on the ECA web site):

While conservatives complain that the FCC and the Obama administration have gone too far with net neutrality (with some, like Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), going so far as to sponsor a bill to strip the FCC of any authority to regulate Internet access), Democrats have veered off into another direction. Democrats like Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) think that the FCC has not gone far enough.

This week the Senators introduced a billed called the "Internet Freedom, Broadband Promotion, and Consumer Protection Act of 2011." The bill would extend net neutrality rules to wireless networks. In light of consumer complaints and Verizon and MetroPCS already filing lawsuits, politicians believe that more is needed to combat practices that negatively impact consumers' rights.

Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto, CA.) introduced a bill that mandates that "all video games with an Electronics Software Ratings Board rating of Teen or higher" must be sold with a health warning label. The bill is called "The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2011" and would create a new rule within the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The label would read:

"WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

Jared Loughner is obviously mentally ill, but the media will not let that fact get in the way of a juicy story. In the hours after the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona when he gunned down twenty people at a Safeway supermarket on Saturday, seriously injuring Arizona congressional representative Gabrielle Giffords, and killing several people including a sitting federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, the media jumped to conclusions about Loughner's motivations and inspirations.

Incoming White House Chief of Staff William Daley's history in the telecom industry has some supporters of the FCC’s net neutrality rules concerned, according to a report in The Hill. Dailey served as president of SBC Communications before it acquired AT&T and took the “smaller” company's name. Saying that AT&T was a smaller company tells you just how big SBC really was.

One of those supporters is Free Press:

"With Daley at his side, how long will it be before Obama caves?" Tim Karr, Free Press campaign director, wrote in the Huffington Post on Saturday.

Opponents of net neutrality, including Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), think that Dailey’s influence in the White House on this particular issue is a good thing:

The new Republican controlled House or Representatives wasted no time this week getting to its agenda which included amending the clean air act, cuts in discretionary spending, plans for hearing on the powers of the president's "czars," and a bill that would limit the power of the FCC to enforce net neutrality.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced H.R. 96, a bill "to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from further regulating the Internet."

Blackburn's new bill has 59 co-sponsors, and should have no problem passing in the House. In the Senate it has less of a chance of surviving.

Republicans in the House and Senate have vowed to find ways to curtail the powers of the FCC and other agencies. The FCC is one of many targets that lawmakers will attempt to take to task in 2011.

Source: Ars Technica

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) admits that overturning or repealing the new net neutrality rules put in place earlier this month by the Federal Communications Commission will be difficult because the Democrats still control the Senate and the White House.

Hutchinson has been one of the most vocal opponents of the new regulations on broadband and wireless service providers. Though she has pledged to put forth a resolution to "disapprove the legislation" she admits that she faces an uphill battle in both houses and an inevitable veto from the president should it make it that far.

"As long as the Democrats are in control of the Senate and the president believes this is the way to govern, we will have a hard time shutting it down," Hutchison told host David Asman during a Fox Business Channel interview. "But I hope enough Democrats will come alongside us in the Senate and Republicans in the House and say this is wrong."

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) said today that the Federal Communications Commission should be renamed the "Fabricating a Crisis Commission," following its vote to approve new rules to regulate certain aspects of the internet. Later on in a blistering attack of the FCC's actions this week, DeMint said he will push for legislation that limits the power of the FCC to act on its own in enforcing rules.

"Proceeding on its own liberal whims rather than facts, this FCC has chosen to grant itself broad authority to limit how businesses can bring the internet to consumers in faster and more innovative ways," DeMint said in a lengthy statement.

Senator Al Franken (D-MN) does not like the new net neutrality proposal and has said publically that it could do "more harm than doing nothing at all." Franken says this for a number of reasons: it exempts wireless broadband from any nondiscrimination provisions, it gives a nod of approval to paid prioritization. In his view, the FCC would be better off waiting and doing net neutrality the right way.

Franken is not alone in his criticism; Republicans don't want any form of net neutrality, while Democrats -- including advocacy groups such as Free Press and the ECA - don't like it because it doesn't do enough.

"I am very worried that the draft Order does not do enough to preserve that openness," he wrote to FCC Chair Julius Genachowski. In fact, as presently written, it could do "more harm than doing nothing at all."

The highest-ranking Republican member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has filed an amendment to an appropriations bill to put a hold on funding for any new net neutrality rules passed by the FCC. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R-Texas) amendment was co-signed by John Ensign (R-Nevada) and six other Republican lawmakers.

The amendment to a bill for military and veterans construction projects would "prohibit the FCC from using any appropriated funds to adopt, implement or otherwise litigate any network neutrality based rules, protocols or standards."

The FCC is set to vote on net neutrality rules December 21 at its December meeting.

Source: Washington Post

On Monday, two prominent U.S. Senators released a new government report (US International Trade Commission study) showing that "widespread counterfeiting and piracy in China" has had an impact on U.S. economic interests. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Senator Charles Grassley, who requested the report, are highlighting its findings because high-level US China trade talks are taking place this week in Washington.

"China continually fails to protect and enforce American intellectual property rights and discriminates against American businesses," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said in a statement that accompanied the report.

"Small steps and empty promises won't cut it when American jobs are on the line. This week's US China trade talks are the perfect opportunity for China to make serious commitments to address these issues. It is time for action," Baucus added.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Ma.) is urging Democrats at the Federal Communications Commission to vote for Chairman Julius Genachowski's net neutrality proposal on December 21. The former presidential candidate and long-time Massachusetts Senator wrote a letter to Democratic Commissioners at the FCC saying that they should support it, despite it not being perfect.

"Some advocates for what we consider to be 'the perfect' are now urging you to fight and vote against the good. I would argue that is short sighted," Kerry wrote in a letter to FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, both Democrats.

Kerry is the chairman of the Senate Communications subcommittee. He said he would support the proposal with some reservations if he were a commissioner.

The Voices Blog on the Washington Post offers two videos that you'll want to see if you are from California or if you are at all interested in net neutrality.

In one video Republican candidate, Carly Fiorina confirms that she is against net neutrality, saying that her "background as an executive at AT&T and Lucent Alcatel before heading Hewlett Packard show that regulation of the telecom industry can be a disaster for business." She also said the FCC should not try to re-assert its authority to regulate broadband.

Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer is for net neutrality being handled by the FCC, or through congressional legislation. She co-signed legislation to create new rules for ISPs that would stop them from blocking web sites and prioritizing traffic unfairly.

Viacom President and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman issued a short statement in support of the Senate Bill to deal with online infringement - the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act." Viacom's support of such a bill is not surprising considering that it owns multiple media companies. Below is his full, unfiltered comments on the bill:

"The film and television industries are responsible for millions of U.S. jobs and tens of billions in wages to American workers. However, businesses hiding offshore are generating large profits from global theft of intellectual property in digital form, threatening our nation's prosperity and one of its most vital exports. The bipartisan legislation introduced today by Senators Leahy, Hatch and eight other original cosponsors provides necessary authority and flexibility for the Department of Justice to keep pace with the complexities of fighting digital theft. This bill is an important step forward to help curb rampant piracy here and abroad, and protect American jobs. We look forward to working with the Senate and House Judiciary Committees and Congressional leadership on its passage."

A group of Senators introduced legislation Monday to tackle what they say is a "growing problem of online piracy and counterfeiting." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and senior Republican member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced a new bill called the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act." The legislation is cosponsored by Committee members Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Senators Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) are also cosponsors of the legislation.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act promises to do the following (according to the press release):

- Give the Department of Justice an expedited process for cracking down on websites that are dedicated to making infringing goods and services available;

Minnesota senator and funny man Al Franken will give the opening remarks alongside FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn (who were both invited by Franken) at the Free Press-sponsored Future of the Internet forum in Minneapolis today - says Politico. Speaking to Tech Daily Dose, Franken's office said that the hearing "comes in the wake of Google's pact with Verizon to build toll lanes on the Internet," a reference to the proposal last week from the two companies as an alternative to FCC regulations.

The invite for the event reads: "Members of the community are encouraged to attend and to share their ideas, experiences and concerns with the commissioners. The meeting will focus on the FCC's responsibility to protect the open Internet for consumers and to foster universal broadband access across the country."

The event will take place at 6 p.m. in Minneapolis, and is co-hosted by Free Press, the Main Street Project and the Center for Media Justice.

Even though Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had a few moments of shame after he was caught overstating his military service earlier in the year, he managed to stay well ahead of his Republican rival, but things are changing rapidly.

That’s because, it seems, that Linda McMahon has the momentum, according to the latest polls so much so, in fact, that a Reuters story from Sunday has the political chattering classes in the state afraid to place any bets on who might win in Nov. Connecticut’s primary is today, and while McMahon and Blumenthal will have a fairly easy time rolling over their party's challenges to incumbency (barring any surprises), their match-up this November won't be a cake-walk for either of them.

What's most interesting about this race is that both candidates have a history with videogames. For Blumenthal it has been against video games in general, and for McMahon it has been as a character in videogames based on the company she ran for a very long time.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D) and his campaign team have re-enabled a website featuring old images and position statements from his opponent, GOP Senatorial nominee Sharron Angle.

As reported yesterday, Angle’s team had issued a cease-and-desist to Reid’s camp over the reproduced content, taken an Angle website launched before she won the right to represent the Republican Party against the incumbent Reid. It was suggested that following her primary win, Angle toned down her rhetoric in a newly fashioned website.

As the battle for one of Nevada’s Senate seats heats up between incumbent Harry Reid (D) and challenger Sharron Angle (R), Angle’s camp issued a cease-and-desist letter to Reid’s team over images and position statements taken from an old Angle website, which were then posted to the website theRealSharronAngle.com.

TPM reported that Angle launched a new website after winning the Nevada Republican Senate primary, at least partly to tone down “her right-wing rhetoric.” The Reid campaign team had saved Angle’s old website contents however, and reproduced them on the aforementioned website (which has since been taken down and now forwards to SharronsUndergroundBunker.com).

Solicitor General Elena Kagan today begins what could be a grueling week of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee as she attempts to become a Supreme Court Justice, and, eventually perhaps, cast her lot in Schwarzenegger vs. EMA.

Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod expressed some concern over Kagan’s confirmation, citing a “hyper-partisanship” in Congress and looming midterm elections as reasons that Republican votes to confirm Kagan might be hard to come by.

Axelrod stated, “On the merits, we think that this should be an easy decision for the committee and for the Senate. We also live in an extraordinarily polarized political climate, and therefore we are preparing to make a vigorous case.”

The Judiciary Committee is made up of twelve Democrats and seven Republicans.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released its National Broadband Plan to Congress.

FCC Chair Julius Genachowski called the document an “action plan” for a “21st century roadmap to spur economic growth and investment, create jobs, educate our children, protect our citizens, and engage in our democracy.”

An Executive Summary of the Plan (PDF) stated that nearly 200 million Americans possessed a broadband Internet connection as of last year, up from 8 million in 2000. 100 million citizens are still without broadband at home however and perhaps more importantly, “nearly a decade after 9/11, our first responders still lack a nationwide public safety mobile broadband communications network.”

While not game-related, it is very entertaining, something not always associated with Senate floor proceedings.

Check out the embedded video of Senator Al Franken (D-MN) denying Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) an extra “moment” to finish his remarks in the midst of a debate on healthcare.

Add in reaction from a peeved Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and the event comes off as a real-life Saturday Night Live sketch.

More videos and commentary are available here.

U.S. Senators Bernard Sanders (I-VT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have penned a letter that implores the government to make public the proposals behind the ultra-secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

The letter (PDF here), dated November 23, was addressed to Ron Kirk, The U.S. Trade Representative. In the correspondence, the duo notes that they are “concerned” that President Obama’s previous stress of the importance of transparency, public participation and collaboration in government were not being applied to ACTA negotiations.

From the letter:

The ACTA involves dozens if not hundreds of substantive aspects of intellectual property law and its enforcement, including those that have nothing to do with counterfeiting… There are concerns about the impact of ACTA on privacy and civil rights of individuals, on the supply of products under the first sale doctrine, on the markets for legitimate generic medicines, and on consumers and innovation in general.

Sanders and Brown added that they were “surprised and unpersuaded” by claims that the information concerning the negotiations present a risk to the national security of the U.S. and that the public “has a right to monitor and express informed views on proposals of such magnitude.”

The Senators further stated that the secrecy of ACTA has “undermined” public confidence and attempts to tie this to a point made by Dan Glickman, CEO of the Motion Picture Association (MPAA). Unfortunately, in a letter supporting ACTA, Glickman wrote, “Outcries on the lack of transparency in the ACTA negotiations are a distraction. They distract from the substance and the ambition of ACTA which are to work with key trading partners to combat piracy and counterfeiting across the global marketplace."

Another letter supporting ACTA, sent on November 19, was signed by the likes of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), NBC Universal, News Corp., The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner, Inc., Universal Music Group, Viacom Inc. and Warner Music Group.

Update: A European Commission examination of ACTA’s Internet chapter has leaked and can be viewed online here (PDF). Michael Geist gives it a going over here. Worth noting: it appears the U.S. proposal contains a three-strikes policy, similar to one enacted in France and proposed for the UK.

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has launched a drive to get gamers to notify government representatives of their support for a pair of bills that would make gaming a little greener.

S.1397, or the Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act, would research ways to deal with the proper disposal of electronic devices, while S.1696, or the Green Gaming Act of 2009, would require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study of videogame consoles energy efficiency.

The ECA’s letter states:

While I enjoy spending some of my free time playing video games, I also would like my hobby to be “greener,” and these bills would both help to that end. Both S. 1397 and S. 1696 are needed steps to insure that my hobby of video games continues to improve as an environmentally sensitive hobby.

Participants can input their information and send off a letter to their Senator via a simple form on the ECA website.

Image via Green Today Magazine, which has a rundown on the average energy consumption of a variety of videogame consoles.

Disclosure: GamePolitics is a publication of The ECA.

A bill up for consideration before the Senate looks for ways to deal with the growing piles of disposed—and potentially toxic—electronic devices.

S.1397, or “Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act” was introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and seeks new ways to attack the growing problem of “e-waste.”

Citing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stats that over 2.0 billion “computers, televisions, wireless devices, printers, gaming systems, and other devices” have been sold since 1980, the proposed bill notes that “collection of such electronic devices is expensive, and separation and proper recycling of some of the materials recovered, like lead from cathode-ray tube televisions, is costly.”

The bill seeks to enable research into such areas as ways to safely separate and remove hazardous materials from electronic devices, how to develop environmentally-friendly alternatives and to identify the “social, behavioral, and economic barriers to recycling.”

Another proposed aspect of the bill would see grants given to higher education facilities to enable the development of curriculum that “incorporates the principles of environmental design into the development of electronic devices.”

As ArsTechnica notes, the proposed bill is really just opening the topic up for discussion in hopes of setting the tone for future actions.

S.1397 was introduced on July 6, 2009 and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Will former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling run for the Senate seat vacated by the recent death of Ted Kennedy?

If he does, how will MMO development at his company, 38 Studios be affected?

These remain open questions following yesterday's acknowledgement by Schilling that he is considering a bid for the late Kennedy's former spot. Writing on his 38 Pitches blog, Schilling was candid about his potential foray into big-time politics:

While my family is obviously the priority, and 38 Studios is a priority, I do have some interest in the possibility [of running]. That being said, to get to there from where I am today, many many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen. I am not going to comment further on the matter since at this point it would be speculation on top of speculation.

Although Bloomberg reports that Schilling is a registered Independent, as GamePolitics reported during last year's presidential race, Schilling stumped for Republican contender John McCain. He is most definitely not an Obama fan.

The Boston Globe has additional quotes on the Senate issue from Schilling, including this one:

I'm not going to divulge the discussions, but I've been contacted by people whose opinion I give credence to and listen to, and I listened...

As GamePolitics noted last week, the Federal Communications Commission has floated the idea of a universal content rating system which would span various forms of media, including video games.

While lobbying group ESA quickly raised objections to the concept, the video game industry did quite well in an FCC report on parental controls issued to Congress on Monday. GameCulture has more:

Members of Congress who will receive the FCC's report will find almost nothing negative about the game industry's handling of parental control technology and ratings. Common Sense Media's concern about unrated online content and user-created content is noted but countered by the ESA, which points out that "no rating system or control device can anticipate the extemporaneous world of the Internet..."

While the FCC says it intends to launch a Notice of Inquiry specifically for games, this first round is a clear victory for the industry.  At this rate, even if regulators decide to pursue a "universal rating system," it could end up looking a lot like the system developed by the ESRB.

Mid-year documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission indicate that the video game industry is currently leaning to the Democratic side of the aisle when it comes to Congressional campaign donations.

ESA PAC, the political action committee of game publishers group the Entertainment Software Association, has disbursed $12,400 to Congressional candidates so far in 2009. All but $1,000 of those funds went to Democrats or Democratic PACs. Here's the breakdown:

• Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) - $3,000
• Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) - $1,000  (Meek is running for a vacant Senate seat)
• New Democratic Coalition PAC - $2,000
• Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) - $2,400
• Sen. John Thune (R-SD) - $1,000
• Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) - $1,000
• Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - $1,000
• Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - $1,000

The contributions will be used by recipients for the 2010 mid-term elections. South Dakota's Thune is the only Republican among those receiving ESA PAC money so far in 2009.

DOCUMENT DUMP: Grab a copy of the ESA PAC mid-year report here...

It was 15 years ago today that the video game industry introduced the ESRB rating system to Congress, reports Wired's This Day in Tech blog.

The move came in the wake of Congressional criticism of game violence, particularly the original Mortal Kombat, which seems laughably tame by today's standards. Wired's Chris Kohler writes:

The [Congressional] hearings were largely a response to the popularity of... Mortal Kombat...

Nintendo chairman Howard Lincoln and Sega vice president Bill White took potshots at each other during the hearing. Lincoln said that the Sega CD game Night Trap, another photorealistic, occasionally violent game that the company had rated MA-17, “simply has no place in our society” and testified that “small children” had bought it.

Meanwhile, White’s position was that Sega was more responsible than Nintendo, because his company had [its own] rating system in place...  [Connecticut Sen. Joe] Lieberman would later express his shock that the two executives went after each other with such ferocity.

Lieberman's threat to regulate game content via legislation persuaded the game biz to get its act together. The IDSA (now known as the ESA) was formed and quickly set up the ESRB, which went into operation on September 1st, 1994.