Congress Passes IP Bill with Provision Administration Opposes

The House Sunday passed the Intellectual Property Enforcement bill, legislation backed by studios and publishers that boosts the government's effort to crack down on intellectual piracy. The bill already passed the Senate Friday after a provision was removed that would have given the Justice Department the power to pursue civil cases against copyright infringers. That and another provision still in the bill ran afoul of both the Justice and Commerce Departments. But the bill, as passed by both Houses and heading for the president's desk, still contains a provision for creating an IP-enforcement-coordinating post in the White House's Office of the President, which Commerce and Justice said they objected to strongly as a violation of separation of powers. It now remains to be seen whether the White House wants to take on a veto fight on a bipartisan bill -- it passed the Senate by unanimous consent and the House by a margin of 381-41.