Political Landscape:

With a bill introduced in the U.S. House last week, federal lawmakers including Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes Glendale and Burbank, are looking to crack down on intellectual property theft. Digital civil rights groups say the bill’s proposed financial penalties for copyright infringement are too steep.

The bill, called the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007, aims to strengthen laws protecting creative and intellectual property, and it would create a permanent intellectual property division within the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Intellectual property is not just the product of rock stars and movie stars,” said Schiff, whose district includes Glendale and Burbank. “It accounts for more than 11 million American jobs and is a driving force in our economy. American intellectual property is leading the way all around the world, and this bill will help ensure that we protect this work from being stolen in the black market.”

Schiff and other lawmakers backing the legislation reported that counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property costs the United States $200 billion to $250 billion per year in lost sales and 750,000 lost jobs.

The pending Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007 could also be a boon for the healthcare industry, which has been reportedly marginalized in developing countries by counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The prevalence of counterfeit pharmaceuticals ranges from less than 1% in developed countries to more than 30% in developing countries, and more than 50% of counterfeit pharmaceuticals are obtained from illicit websites, according to World Health Organization estimates.

Though the proposed legislation focuses largely on increasing domestic enforcement capabilities, it aims to clamp down on overseas piracy by establishing the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative in the Executive Office of the President, which would deal with national and international coordination of intellectual property enforcement efforts. The bill also provides for the appointment of intellectual property officers to work with foreign countries in their efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy.