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{link: 'http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.107hr5211',title: 'Thomas - Bill Summary and Status - H.R.5211' }

H.R.5211
Title: To amend title 17, United States Code, to limit the liability of copyright owners for protecting their works on peer-to-peer networks.
Sponsor: Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-26] (introduced 7/25/2002)      Cosponsors (4)
Latest Major Action: 8/20/2002 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.
Jump to: Summary, Major Actions, All Actions, Titles, Cosponsors, Committees, Related Bill Details, Amendments

SUMMARY AS OF:
7/25/2002--Introduced.

Amends Federal copyright law to protect a copyright owner from liability in any criminal or civil action for impairing, with appropriate technology, the unauthorized distribution, display, performance, or reproduction of his or her copyrighted work on a publicly accessible peer-to-peer file trading network, if such impairment does not, without authorization, alter, delete, or otherwise impair the integrity of any computer file or data residing on the computer of a file trader.

Denies such liability protection to a copyright owner who does not comply with certain notification requirements or who: (1) impairs the availability within a publicly accessible peer-to-peer file trading network of a computer file or data that does not contain a work in which the owner has an exclusive copyright; (2) causes economic loss to any person other than affected file traders; or (3) causes other economic loss of more than $50.00 per impairment to the property of the affected file trader.

Conditions a copyright owner's protection from liability upon seven-days' notice to the Department of Justice of the specific technologies intended for use to impair unauthorized distribution, display, performance, or reproduction of a copyrighted work. Requires notice as well, upon request, to an affected file trader or the assignee of an Internet Protocol address used by an affected file trader.

Provides for a cause of action against a copyright owner for wrongful impairment, including an action by the Attorney General for injunctive relief in certain circumstances.


MAJOR ACTIONS:

***NONE***


ALL ACTIONS:
7/25/2002:
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1395-1396)
7/25/2002:
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
8/20/2002:
Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

TITLE(S):  (italics indicate a title for a portion of a bill)
COSPONSORS(4), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]:     (Sort: by date)


COMMITTEE(S):
RELATED BILL DETAILS:


AMENDMENT(S):

***NONE***