US Congress scraps controversial copyright proposal

The US Senate has agreed not to ask federal lawyers to pursue copyright infringement cases

A controversial provision to a proposed US copyright law has been scrapped after criticism from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and civil rights groups.

The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Right Act of 2008 had been proposed by senators Tom Leahy and Arlen Specter as a way to update intellectual property enforcement and handling.

Among the proposals in the bill was a provision that allowed the Attorney General to pursue copyright cases and collect monetary damages for copyright holders.

This section raised concerns from privacy advocates and online rights groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which argued that the bill would essentially turn federal prosecutors into pro-bono lawyers for the entertainment industry.

Opposition to the bill seemed to have little momentum, however, until the proposal was passed to the DoJ.

After learning of the bill, the DOJ sent a letter (PDF) to Leahy and Specter voicing "strong opposition" to the bill.

The department argued that such a law would put a strain on already thin resources, and "improperly micro-manage the internal organisation of the Executive Branch".

The DoJ added: "Civil copyright enforcement has always been the responsibility and prerogative of private copyright holders, and US law already provides them with effective legal tools to protect their rights.

"In an era of fiscal responsibility, the resources of the DoJ should be used for the public benefit, not on behalf of particular industries that can avail themselves of existing civil enforcement provisions."

The DoJ letter did not fall on deaf ears. The EFF said that it had received word from Oregon senator Ron Wyden that Leahy and Specter had agreed to remove the controversial provision from the bill.