Abstract
he U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill aimed at helping the record and movie industries protect copyrighted works from being illegally traded online. Under the bill, those found to have shared more than 1,000 songs online or to have videotaped movies in theaters could face prison terms of as much as three years for a first offense. Record companies and movie studios have been pursuing prosecutions of alleged copyright violators, with the recording industry having brought more than 3,000 lawsuits against individuals accused of trading copyrighted songs. Under this law, the government would also bear responsibility for prosecuting copyright violators. A similar bill was previously passed by the Senate; differences between the two measures must be reconciled before it could be signed into law.