Groups Ask Targeted Enforcement for Intellectual Property

The US government should restrict its actions enforcing intellectual-property (IP) law to those "violations that cause the greatest harm in clearly settled areas of law," six public interest organizations said.

In comments with the new Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, the groups said in addition that in addition to enforcement policies, the government "should also be open to novel and creative solutions that work within the existing system of balance," such as considering "whether facilitating legal access to content through mechanical licensing at reasonable rates would prove a better way to discourage infringement and benefit the industry as a whole than the blunter solutions often recommended by the entertainment industry."

Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library Association, Special Libraries Association, and U.S. PIRG filed the comments.

Victoria Espinel, the enforcement coordinator, asked for public comment on what policies for intellectual property enforcement she should recommend to Congress.