PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 27, 2006
Intellectual Property Enhanced Criminal Enforcement Act of 2006 - Amends federal copyright law to: (1) provide that copyright registration requirements apply to civil (not criminal) infringement actions; (2) allow a court to issue a protective order to prevent disclosure of seized records relating to copyright infringement; (3) allow a court to treat parts of a copyrighted work as separate works for purposes of assessing statutory damages; (4) impose criminal penalties for attempts and conspiracies to commit copyright infringement; and (5) prohibit importing and exporting of infringing copies of copyrighted works.
Amends the federal criminal code to increase penalties for: (1) trafficking in counterfeit labels or packaging; (2) criminal infringement of copyrights; (3) unauthorized fixation of and trafficking in reproductions of live musical performances; (4) unauthorized recording of motion pictures; and (5) trafficking in counterfeit goods or services.
Provides for civil forfeiture of property used to facilitate copyright infringement and restitution for victims of such infringement.
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Directs the Attorney General to: (1) create an operational unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist in the investigation and coordination of intellectual property crimes; (2) implement a comprehensive program to train FBI agents in the investigation and prosecution of such crimes; (3) assign federal prosecutors to Justice Department offices in Hong Kong and Budapest to coordinate international enforcement of intellectual property laws; and (4) create a task force to develop and implement a plan to investigate and prosecute international organized crime syndicates involved in theft of intellectual property.
Authorizes additional funding through FY2011 to investigate and prosecute criminal activity involving computers.
People & committees
Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5] · R–WI
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 15, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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