Press Release
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Chairman Thom Tillis (R-NC) has recently unveiled the text of a new bipartisan piece of legislation. This legislation aims to penalize large, criminal streaming services. These services knowingly and for financial advantages offer illicit services to the public. The services are dedicated to illegally streaming copyrighted material.
The Protecting Lawful Streaming Act would only affect commercial, for-profit streaming piracy services. Online service providers’ typical operations, legitimate business disputes, non-commercial endeavors, and individuals who access pirated streams or unintentionally stream unauthorized copies of copyrighted works will not be impacted by the legislation. Individuals who utilize pirate streaming services will also not be affected.
“The way audiences consume entertainment has shifted toward streaming content online, but this has also increased criminal streaming services illegally distributing copyrighted material,” said Senator Tillis. “This has cost the U.S. economy nearly $30 billion each year, and it discourages the production of creative content for Americans to enjoy.” “This commonsense legislation was drafted with input from creators, user groups, and tech companies and is narrowly targeted. Only criminal organizations will be punished, and individual streamers will not need to worry about the fear of prosecution. This is why groups as diverse as CCIA and Public Knowledge are neutral on this proposal.”
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and David Perdue (R-GA) are co-sponsoring the legislation.
The text can be read here.
Background:
Streaming has quickly become the main method for audiences to enjoy entertainment. It has also become a significant source of piracy. A study last year indicated that digital video piracy is costing the U.S. economy $29.2 billion annually. Streaming piracy affects a lot of creative sectors. This includes major motion pictures, television programs, music, audiobooks, live sports, and pay-per-view programming.
Currently, only copyright owners’ reproduction and distribution rights violations can be prosecuted as felonies. Criminal infringement by streaming, or “publicly performing,” is only a misdemeanor. This is referred to as the streaming loophole. It is particularly detrimental to the US economy, largely due to streaming becoming the most prevalent type of criminal copyright infringement.
This bipartisan, consensus legislation will empower the Department of Justice. It will allow them to file felony charges against digital transmission services that meet specific criteria.
- is primarily designed or provided for the purpose of streaming copyrighted works without the authority of the copyright owner or the law; or
- has no commercially significant purpose or use other than to stream copyrighted works without the authority of the copyright owner or the law; or
- is intentionally marketed by or at the direction of that person to promote its use in streaming copyrighted works without the authority of the copyright owner or the law.
This press release was originally published on Senator Tom Tillis’ website at tillis.senate.gov on December 10th.
The Covid Relief Bill includes this bill as an attachment. As of the writing of this article, President Trump has not signed the Covid Relief Bill.