Orrin Hatch: “I commend my esteemed colleagues in the Senate for passing S. 3021, the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2004…”

“I commend my esteemed colleagues in the Senate for passing S. 3021, the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2004, which I introduced today with the senior Senator from Vermont. This important legislation is actually a package of several smaller intellectual property bills that the House and Senate have been working to enact over the past 2 years. This bill strengthens the intellectual property laws that are vital to the ongoing growth of our economy. In addition to important clarifications to U.S. intellectual property laws, this bill also contains the Family Movie Act, introduced by Representative Lamar Smith, the Chairman of the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over intellectual property legislation. Title I of this Act, the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2003, the ART Act, contains a slightly modified version of S. 1932, authored by my colleagues Senators Cornyn and Feinstein, that passed the Senate by unanimous consent earlier this Congress. This bill will close two significant gaps in our copyright laws that are feeding some of the piracy now rampant on the Internet. First, it criminalizes attempts to camcord movies off of theater screens.”