Here is a small, yet very telling example of a waste of taxpayer money and resources to attempt to achieve a goal that is basically unattainable, courtesy of the United States Congress. I have highlighted points I plan to cover:

HR 4279 – Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (Passed Congress May 8, 2008 410-11 with 12 Not Voting, Congressman Dean Heller voted AYE):

Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007 – Amends federal copyright law to: (1) provide a safe harbor for copyright registrations that contain inaccurate information; (2) provide that copyright registration requirements apply to civil (not criminal) infringement actions; (3) require courts to issue protective orders to prevent disclosure of seized records relating to copyright infringement; (4) revise standards for civil damages in copyright infringement and counterfeiting cases; and (5) prohibit importing and exporting of infringing copies of copyrighted works.

Amends the federal criminal code with respect to intellectual property to: (1) enhance criminal penalties for infringement of a copyright, for trafficking in counterfeit labels or packaging, and for causing serious bodily harm or death while trafficking in counterfeit goods or services; and (2) enhance civil and criminal forfeiture provisions for copyright infringement and provide for restitution to victims of such infringement.

Establishes within the Executive Office of the President the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative to formulate a Joint Strategic Plan for combating counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property and for coordinating national and international enforcement efforts to protect intellectual property rights.

Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to appoint 10 additional intellectual property attaches to work with foreign countries to combat counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property. Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Intellectual Property Enforcement Division to be headed by an Intellectual Property Enforcement Officer (IP Officer).

Amends the Computer Crime Enforcement Act to modify grant programs for combating computer crime to include infringement of copyrighted works over the Internet. Directs the Office of Justice Programs of DOJ to make grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to combat intellectual property theft and infringement crimes.

Directs the Attorney General to: (1) review Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) units and provide such units with additional support and resources; (2) direct each U.S. attorney to review policies for accepting or declining prosecutions of criminal cases involving intellectual property theft; (3) deploy five additional Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinators in foreign countries to protect the intellectual property rights of U.S. citizens; and (4) increase DOJ training and assistance to foreign governments to combat counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property.

———————

Wow, where do I begin, besides the fact that this is Unconstitutional! Reading this into plain English, it means that anyone who downloads as few as one illegal MP3 or movie is in violation of Federal Law and is subject to seizure of their computer without due process and it looks to me without a warrant in reading the entire bill (I only included the summary). This would have been akin to confiscating my cassette recorder in the 1970s for recording one song off of the radio, or confiscating my VCR for recording a TV movie!! How is this even enforceable?

So, what our Congress including our incumbent Congressman has done is voted to create a new department, the Intellectual Property Enforcement office, with a minimum of 15 new government jobs, not including the “additional support and resources” for the CHIP program, to do what will be virtually impossible…police citizens who download illegally. And, here’s the best part, you and I as the taxpayer get to pay for this service! Pretty neat, huh?

I can only think of two possible explanations for this type of legislation. The first is there is a whole bunch of money behind this effort from the record labels, movie production companies and those who produce intellectual property…instead of improving the overall product and embracing the technology movement, they simply want the government to do it for them.

The second, more sinister thought, is the overall attempt to give more power to the Federal Government and even less power to state and local government. There are laws already on the books to enforce copyright law, and to target those that are profiting from breaking said law, why an overreaching, impossible to enforce, new law?

This is an example of exactly the type of legislation that I would vote against, in the spirit of protecting our Constitution, our personal Liberty, and our Freedom. Apparently, my opponent does not share the same view. This is a prime example of why I am running for Congress!!!