Proposed Internet Piracy Bill to Provide Intellectual Property Owners Immediate Protection
Many business and intellectual property owners are unaware of the risks to their businesses as a result of Internet piracy. While the Internet flourishes as a global venue providing a new market for many businesses, it also provides access to the most expansive forum of piracy and unauthorized representation of copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property. As laws continue to evolve in an effort to control Internet piracy, this issue remains a growing concern for business owners, as pirated and counterfeited goods and services available online are no longer limited to the media and entertainment industries. The insurance, pharmaceutical, clothing, and other manufacturing industries are all subject to great financial loss, and in many cases, suffer a loss in goodwill and brand recognition and reputation.
Earlier this year, a bill was proposed in Congress that would grant courts a broader authority to combat Internet piracy. In part, “The Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act”, or the “PROTECT IP Act”, allows intellectual property owners to seek immediate relief from internationally hosted websites that infringe intellectual property registered in the United States, or provides access to counterfeited goods and services to United States citizens. If enacted, courts could issue temporary restraining orders against websites that are dedicated to the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or sale of goods and services. The restraining orders would require search engines such as Google and Yahoo to remove infringing websites from search results, halting its ability to generate revenue, and ultimately diminishing the financial incentive behind Internet piracy.
The bill was prompted to address the issues in enforcing United States law overseas, including cases where no person could be found to represent the website. Further, intellectual property owners argue that allowing infringing websites to operate pending final judgment increases financial loss for the intellectual property owner. The PROTECT IP Act addresses these concerns by granting restraining orders based on the merits of the complaint, even when no representative is available to defend the infringing website.
Business and intellectual property owners should be mindful of the potential loss they could incur as a result of Internet piracy. Copyrighted goods and services can be reproduced and distributed easily and effectively over the Internet, damaging small and medium sized businesses, including start-up companies that may not be able to recover from early financial losses. While the PROTECT IP Act has not been made into law, there are other laws available to protect your business and intellectual property. If you have questions concerning your business or intellectual property, Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, LLP can assist.