BILL TO MAKE STREAMING ILLEGAL CONTENT A FELONY INTRODUCED

Copyright owners have been frustrated by a disparity in federal law which views the illegal P2P downloading of copyright material as a felony, but if that same material is delivered via streaming it is not. The Commercial Felony Streaming Act would, just as its name implies, place the same legal consequences as downloading on the streaming of copyright material.

The act, which has received bi-partisan support and is sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Cornyn (R-TX), cleared its first legislative hurdle by being voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee for presentation to the floor of the Senate. If approved by the Senate, the bill would then make its way over to the House. Renewed focus on rectifying the legal disparity between downloading and streaming came as the result of legislative recommendations presented to Congress by Victoria Espinel, the Office of U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, back in March. The recommendations focus on ways to improve intellectual property (IP) enforcement efforts and include shoring up a disparity in how IP is enforced based on the method of distribution.

The wording of the legislation is careful not to target individuals who stream videos without the purpose of profit. In fact, the act clearly states that an offense, which could lead to imprisonment of up to five years, would need to consist of 10 or more public performances of one or more copyright works during any 180-day period. Also, the copyright work must have a retail value that exceeds $2,500 or a license worth more than $5,000. As one would expect, a number of industry groups applauded the approval of the act by the Committee including the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), AFTRA, Directors Guild of America, IATSE, SAG, Independent Film & Television Alliance, the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO).