MUMBAI: The fight against piracy got a boost when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced legislation that would strengthen the government’s law enforcement resources to crack down on intellectual property theft. Film theft which costs foreign and domestic distributors, retailers and others $18 billion a year also takes a real toll on the American economy in the way of lost wages and revenue.

Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said, ” I am pleased to see the introduction of Senators Leahy and Cornyn’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Act of 2007 and encouraged by their commitment to protect America’s intellectual content from theft. The MPAA serves as the film industry’s primary agency for combating copyright theft. I applaud Senators Leahy and Cornyn’s leadership in working to ensure that adequate resources are available to enforce our nation’s intellectual property laws.”

“Every year 141,000 jobs are lost in the film industry alone due to piracy. This legislation is a solid step that will help keep America’s economy strong and I look forward to working with the chairman, Senator Cornyn and the Judiciary Committee on this important issue,” he added.

The MPAA has advocated for some key provisions that are included in the draft legislation including, language to increase the number of FBI agents dedicated to intellectual property enforcement and the creation of an operation unit of FBI agents to work closely with the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section on complex multi-jurisdictional cases.