Senate IP bill set to advance

The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider Thursday the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act (S.3325), which was introduced only last week by Sens Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and a bipartisan group of co-sponsors. Given the quick jump from introduction to mark-up -- and the fact that it was jointly introduced by the chairman and ranking member of the committee -- it's a fair bet the votes are there to pass it out of committee. If reported out on Thursday, it could presumably get to the Senate floor sometime in September, following Congress's August recess. Should it pass the full Senate, it would likely be paired with the PRO IP Act, which passed the House overwhelmingly in May. The biggest difference between the House and Senate bills, which presumably would have to be resolved in conference, is that that Senate version gives the Department of Justice authority to bring civil cases against alleged copyright infringers, which carry a lower burden of proof than criminal cases, the ordinary purview of the department. The idea has been a pet cause for Leahy, who first introduced it in 2004. Critics call that akin to turning the Justice Department into "an arm of the legal departments of the entertainment companies by authorizing DOJ to file civil lawsuits for infringement, forcing taxpayers to foot the bill."