Techno-Czar

On Monday, President Bush signed a bill into law that creates a point-man (Technology/IP Czar) in the government to continue the fight against piracy. The IP Czar would be in charge of coordinating efforts to fight IP infringement in all areas of IP including copyright and patent. Big proponents of the law include people and associations in the music and movie industry.

The reaction is a bit mixed among groups that typically disfavor overly expansive intellectual property laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation was relieved that a provision was removed which would essentially turn the Justice Department into "pro bono personal lawyers for the content industry" by having them file civil lawsuits against copyright infringers in place of private parties.

However, other provisions that remained in the bill are still questioned by the group Public Knowledge. Public Knowledge pointed out the harshness of a forfeiture provision that would force the forfeiture of a device used in piracy, regardless of whether the device was used for other non-pirating activities. Additionally, Public Knowledge notes that nothing was included in the law to address other pressing problems in intellectual property law such as inability of people to license orphan works. Phong Dinh reported on a bill that is currently making its way through Congress that can potentially address the orphan works issue, so it's possible that some of Public Knowledge's concerns will be addressed by other means.

A coordinated IP strategy would be a step in the right direction for the US. While the areas of patent, copyright, and trademark are distinctly different in how they play out in the real world, the average person's understanding of these laws is often clumped together. As we move toward an era where creating and sharing content will lie in the hands of the average citizen, it makes some sense to take a more unified stance on the enforcement of IP infringement so that the average citizen stays informed about what behavior is encouraged and what is condemned.

Additionally, since President Bush will likely not be in office long enough to appoint this IP Czar, the selection of our next president will become even more important from an IP standpoint.