Letter from Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), and others.
To: Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Re: enforcement of intellectual property laws by the Department of Justice.
Date: July 25, 2002.
Source: Office of Rep. Lamar Smith.

July 25, 2002

The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Ashcroft:

We are writing to urge that the U.S. Department of Justice vigilantly enforce intellectual property laws on the Internet to punish online theft of our copyrighted works and to deter such conduct. Such an effort is increasingly important as online theft of our nation’s creative works is a growing threat to our culture and economy.

Over the past few years, we have witnessed a staggering increase in the amount of intellectual property pirated over the Internet through peer-to-peer systems. According to recent news reports, the six most popular peer-to-peer software programs have been downloaded by computer users over 140 million times. Research has also shown that at any one time there may be as many as 2 million users simultaneously utilizing any one of these services.

In order to stem this growing tide of massive piracy on the Internet, we urge the Department to utilize its powers to:

• Prosecute operators of peer-to-peer systems who intentionally facilitate mass piracy;
• Prosecute individuals who intentionally allow mass copying from their computer over peer-to-peer networks; and
• Create more Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIPs) units around the country with expanded authority to prosecute Internet piracy.

The copyright industries account for 5% of our gross domestic product. Increased criminal enforcement will ensure that this industry remains a driving factor for economic growth, and we ask that you make this a priority for the Department.

Sincerely,

cc: Daniel J. Bryant, Assistant Attorney General, Legislative Affairs
      Michael Chertoff, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division
      Martha Stensell-Gramm, Section Chief, Computer Crime and
      Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division