Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Latest action. Laid on the table. See S. 1257 for further action. (consideration: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) H6799)
Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal copyright law with respect to the statutory damages available for copyright infringement to increase: (1) the minimum damages from $500 to $750; and (2) the maximum damages from $20,000 to $30,000. Increases from $100,000 to $300,000 the maximum additional damages a court may award for willful infringement. Authorizes a court to increase the award of statutory damages up to $250,000 per work in a case where the copyright owner demonstrates that the infringement was part of a repeated pattern or practice of infringement. Amends the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act to direct the Sentencing Commission to amend the guideline applicable to criminal infringement of a copyright or trademark to provide an enhancement based upon the retail price of the legitimate items infringed upon and the quantity of the infringing items. Modifies this standard with respect to criminal traffic in unauthorized sound recordings or music videos of live musical performances to base the enhancement upon the retail price of the infringing items as well as their quantity.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on July 1, 1999. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Laid on the table. See S. 1257 for further action. (consideration: CR H6799)
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on August 2, 1999: Laid on the table. See S. 1257 for further action. (consideration: CR H6799)
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 106th Congress (1999-00), 580 of the 9,158 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 6.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JAMES ROGAN (R-CA) introduced it on May 11, 1999, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 11, 1999, 10032 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9949 days ago, on August 2, 1999.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 106th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2001 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseLaid on the table. See S. 1257 for further action. (consideration: CR H6799)
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action