New Covid-19 Stimulus Bill Would Make Illegal Streaming a Felony
Tucked away in Congress’ new Covid-19 stimulus bill is an amendment that would make illegal streaming a felony. What does that have to do with coronavirus relief? Not a whole lot. But it would make the act of illegally streaming content online punishable by “up to 10 years in jail.”
That’s the word from
The Hollywood Reporter, which writes that Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced a similar proposal called “The Protecting Lawful Streaming Act” just a few weeks ago. Thillis claims he intends his proposal to apply to “commercial, for-profit streaming piracy services” and not to “individuals who might use pirate streaming services.”
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The legislation creates a copyright claims board at the U.S. Copyright office to hear small claims cases of infringement.
After 10 years of haggling, Congress officially passed the The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act late Monday evening (Dec. 21) as part of the Omnibus COVID-19 Relief Bill. The bill will streamline copyright disputes by creating a small claims tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office that will adjudicate small claims infringement cases.
Cases would be decided by a three-judge panel of experts in a forum where damages would be capped at $15,000 per claim and $30,000 total. Providing an avenue for copyright infringement disputes to be heard outside of expensive federal copyright litigation creates an affordable process for independent creators to enforce their rights without having to hire attorneys or pay hefty court fees.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File
Streaming shows have been the saving grace of cooped-up families everywhere during COVID. Have you caught up yet on “The Crown” and seen every episode of the series “The Queen’s Gambit” yet? But tucked away inside the COVID relief bill is a rewrite of copyright and intellectual property law that could send illegal streamers to prison for ten years and give Hollywood producers a huge tax break.
Congress threw everything
and the kitchen sink into the omnibus bill all in the name of COVID relief. And Hollywood and Silicon Valley got a huge gift with a bright red Christmas bow on it. The 5,593-page congressional wish list, now on its way to the president’s desk, includes a rewrite of piracy, copyright, and intellectual property laws. The changes, among things, make illegal streaming piracy a felony.
There are, however, other provisions that could also have serious implications for the technology and media worlds. For one thing, the bill includes a proposal from Senator Thom Tillis (a Republican from North Carolina) that would make illegal streaming for profit a felony (rather than just a misdemeanor), with penalties of up to 10 years of imprisonment.
When Tillis released a draft of his proposal earlier this month, the open internet/intellectual property nonprofit Public Knowledge released a statement arguing that there’s no need “for further criminal penalties for copyright infringement,” but also saying that the bill is “narrowly tailored and avoids criminalizing users” and “does not criminalize streamers who may include unlicensed works as part of their streams” instead, it focuses on those who pirate for commercial gain.