Pirate Act - Contents

Contents

The Pirate Act was introduced in the United States Senate as S. 2237 by Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on March 25, 2004. It would allow the United States Department of Justice to bring civil copyright infringement cases against individuals suspected of illegal file-sharing on the Internet. In filing a civil lawsuit, knowledge of infringement and willful intent are not required criteria, as they are in criminal cases. Thus, there is a lower burden of proof, making it easier for the DOJ to pursue infringers. Penalties for violating the terms of the bill included fines and prison time of up to 10 years if someone shared 2,500 pieces or more of content, such as songs or movies. Sharing a file that is determined (by a judge) to be worth more than $10,000 can also result in prison time. Additionally, anyone who released content that had not yet been released in wide distribution could also face penalties.

In his argument in favor of the bill, Senator Leahy stated, "Prosecutors can rarely justify bringing criminal charges, and copyright owners have been left to fend for themselves, defending their rights only where they can afford to do so. In a world in which a computer and an Internet connection are all the tools you need to engage in massive piracy, this is an intolerable predicament.”

In addition to granting the DOJ this privilege, the bill also stipulated that the Attorney General would have six months to "develop a program to ensure effective implementation and use of the authority for civil enforcement of the copyright laws", and report back to Congress on the details of said lawsuits, including the total number of lawsuits and the financial statistics. The DOJ would receive $2 million in order to fund the program at its conception.