The Failure of the PRO-IP Act in a Consumer Empowered ERA of Information Production

31 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2010

Date Written: January 7, 2010

Abstract

Technology has changed what kinds of intellectual property are produced, as well as how it is produced, stored, transferred, and sold. Inexpensive, non-capital-intensive production and distribution technologies have allowed many individuals - even those who historically could only consume the intellectual property of others - to join in producing new works that rival the productions of industry giants. Many of those same technologies have facilitated massive consumer infringement, threatening the profits of businesses that profit from intellectual property production under an existing legal framework. These technologies have also made international markets more reachable to both legal producers and infringers, creating new opportunities for legitimate business growth while simultaneously increasing levels of risk to the firms generating revenue from intellectual property production.

This Note examines the passage of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act of 2008 (the PRO-IP Act and the Act). The Note critiques the PRO-IP Act from political, technological, cultural, and economic perspectives: It argues that, from a political standpoint, while the Act squarely addresses international infringement concerns, it deals with domestic infringement in a highly oppressive manner. This Note then contends that Congress’s difficulty accepting technological development has forced an overemphasis on ensuring fairness to commercial information producers. Furthermore, this Note asserts that the Act is problematic from a cultural perspective, because it fails to account for access to modern information production technology, inhibits the production of culturally valuable information, and views decentralized information production as an evil. Finally, this Note criticizes the economic reasoning behind the passage of the Act, because it stems from an incomplete cost-benefit analysis and ignores the opportunity cost of stifling new business development.

Keywords: copyright, legislation, PRO-IP Act, congress

Suggested Citation

Singer, Morris A., The Failure of the PRO-IP Act in a Consumer Empowered ERA of Information Production (January 7, 2010). Suffolk University Law Review, Vol. 43, No. 185, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1549469

Morris A. Singer (Contact Author)

Sufffolk University Law School ( email )

Boston, MA 02108-4977
United States

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