Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999
Latest action. Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends Federal copyright law to increase the statutory damages for copyright infringement which a copyright owner may elect, before final judgment is rendered, instead of actual damages and profits. Increases the limits on statutory damages per work: (1) from a minimum of $500 to $750; and (2) from a maximum of $20,000 to $30,000. Increases from $100,000 to $150,000 the maximum amount to which a court may increase the award of statutory damages per work where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission by a specified deadline to promulgate emergency guideline amendments to implement the requirements of the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act for sentences sufficiently stringent to deter criminal infringement of a copyright or trademark, in accordance with certain procedures set forth in the Sentencing Act of 1987, as though the authority under that Act had not expired.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Senate agreed to House amendment with amendment" stage on November 19, 1999. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
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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 November 22, 1999: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
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?
ORRIN HATCH (R-UT) introduced it on June 22, 1999, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 3 Democrats.
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 June 22, 1999, 9990 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9837 days ago, on November 22, 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
- SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
- HouseNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action