Monday, September 29, 2008

Senate passes intellectual property bill

The senate recently passed a bill regarding the protection of intellectual property. In the article the importance of intellectual property is stressed and the content of the bill is described. "The bill also would authorize funding for federal and local law enforcement to fight intellectual property theft and expand the scope of things that could be seized in a criminal case." This quote from the article that I read brought up one large question. What kind of "things" will be able to be seized in criminal cases other than what is already being seized presently? This seems to grant enforcement agencies a lot more breathing room when investigating potential violations, which may or may not be a good thing in itself. It goes without saying that this increased power so to speak allows more room for abuse. What aspect of these investigations could possibly be abused by these agencies remains to be seen.

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