Two days ago Victoria Espinel, the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator who oversees federal attempts at curbing copyright infringement, confirmed on the official White House blog that the Obama administration had approved new committees with the express purpose of aiding the government's renewed efforts to enforce intellectual property laws.
"I am pleased to tell you today that President Obama issued an Executive Order called 'The Establishment of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Advisory Committees,' establishing two intellectual property enforcement advisory committees designed to improve the Federal Government's intellectual property enforcement efforts," Espinel writes. "The President's issuance of the Executive Order further confirms his Administration's commitment to creating jobs and improving the economy by strengthening the enforcement of intellectual property laws, the laws designed to protect and foster America's inventiveness and creativity."
The Obama administration appointed Espinel as IPEC within the Office of Management and Budget in September 2009. She was confirmed by Congress in December, and will now serve as chairperson for both committees.
News of these two new committees' inception has drawn stark criticism from site p2pnet, which labeled them as representative of "further hijacking by the entertainment cartels of of taxpayer-funded resources meant to serve the public, not corporate entities which answer only to their shareholders and investors."
The two committees will be comprised of various officials from within other federal agencies. One committee, Espinel explains, is a "Cabinet level advisory committee comprised of the heads of the Departments responsible for intellectual property enforcement, including the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Agriculture and USTR." The other will host representatives "from the agencies responsible for designing and carrying out the Administration's strategy for stopping intellectual property theft."
Whether the creation of more committees will help or hinder copyright protection efforts is up for debate. What's clear is that the Obama administration seems to be taking a renewed interest in protecting copyright laws. But is it essentially in the pocket of giant media conglomerates as p2p.net suggests?
