Congress’ Role in Piracy Fight

I read with interest your article heralding the new report of the Justice Department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property, which apparently concludes that the magnitude and harm of intellectual property crimes requires a vast expansion of federal investigative and prosecutorial attention (“Expanded Piracy Fight Is Urged,” Oct. 12).

Many of us in Congress have been working for some time now to address piracy’s harm to our economy and creative community. But this task force ignored those efforts, never consulting with many of us who have been working hardest on this problem.

It is highly regrettable that obstructionist tactics by Senate Republicans in the final days of this congressional session scuttled our efforts to pass a package of significant and effective intellectual property bills reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Those bills, some of which had previously passed the Senate, would have refined intellectual property laws to bolster protections, improving the law enforcement tools that are needed to ensure that the creative and inventive output of all Americans is not literally pirated away.

It is a shame that the Justice Department chose to remain silent on these issues when its support might have helped convince congressional Republicans to get on board with this vital anti-piracy package.

The Justice Department might consider engaging with those of us in Congress who are actively working to update our intellectual property protection charters.

The lame-duck session is likely to be short, but it will provide an opportunity to test whether the Bush administration is at last interested in achieving real improvements to our laws, or whether we will simply see more of the same press releases, reports and empty promises.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy

Ranking Democrat

Senate Judiciary Committee

Washington