Monday, December 13, 1999
Volume 35, Issue 49; ISSN: 0511-4187
Statement on signing the Digital Theft
Deterrence and Copyright Damages
Improvement Act of 1999
William J Clinton
Statement on Signing the
Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright
Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Decmber 9,1999
Today I have signed into
law H.R. 3456, the "Digital Theft
Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999."
This
legislation will increase for the first time since January 1988
the
statutory damages that a copyright holder may recover for certain
copyright infringements. This increase in penalties would be an
effective deterrent to would-be pirates of copyrighted works. This
Act also directs the United States Sentencing Commission to issue
sentencing guidelines to ensure that sentences for criminal
offenses
against intellectual property are sufficiently severe to deter
such
offenses. I fully support efforts to make sentences in criminal
cases involving intellectual property offenses true deterrents
against the commission of those offenses and am pleased that H.R.
3456 will require the Sentencing Commission to address this matter
on an expedited basis.
William J. Clinton
The White House, December
9,1999.
NoTE: H.R. 3456, approved
December 9, was assigned Public Law No.
106-160.