CONGRESS AND PRESIDENT MOVE TO CREATE ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR WILLFUL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
(1998)

President Clinton signed into law the "No Electronic Theft (NET) Act" on December 16, 1997. The NET Act was presented to the President in companion House and Senate Bills to amend existing federal criminal copyright laws to close certain loopholes for willful copyright infringement. Copyright infringers will now be subject to criminal prosecution for either willfully infringing a copyright for commercial advantage or private financial gain, or for reproducing or distributing one or more copyrighted works, including phonorecords, that have a total retail value of more than $1,000. Significantly, the NET Act defines "financial gain" as "receipt, or expectation of receipt of anything of value, including other copyright works," and it addresses reproductions and distributions by electronic means. These amendments should help protect copyright holders whose works are illegally bartered through networks and bulletin boards. The new law also permits victim impact statements to allow victims to set forth how they have been affected, economically and otherwise, by violations of the NET Act.