Copyright Office joins in: let's make illegal streaming a felony

On her first day as the new Register of Copyrights, Maria Pallante trekked across the street from the Library of Congress to the Rayburn Office Building for a House Judiciary Committee hearing on whether unauthorized Internet streaming should become a felony.

“Copyright policy is never finished,” she told the assembled Representatives, adding that it's time for another tweak to the law. "It is clear that unauthorized copyrighted content is a significant problem that will only increase in severity if technology outpaces legal reforms," she concluded. At issue is a proposal from the IP Enforcement Czar, backed by the White House, to upgrade illegal online streaming from a misdemeanor to a felony. The government currently treats unauthorized reproductions and distributions as potential felonies, giving it leeway to go after certain kinds of website operators that offer access to full downloads of music and movies. Streaming is a little different; an online stream is not necessarily a “reproduction” or “distribution” under the Copyright Act, but is instead a “public performance.” And such unauthorized public performances are currently held to a different legal standard. Why bother to change the law? In Pallante's view, the disparity only exists because, when Congress previously considered copyright changes, online streaming was not a major problem. Now, with increased bandwidth and more scrutiny of file-sharing networks, easy to use and less-traceable online streaming sites have grown hugely in popularity.