A New Copyright Czar?

According to BusinessWeek today, there is a push from powerful lobbyists such as the Motion Picture Association to have Congress create a position for called an Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative. This position would entail cracking down on piracy that the lobbyists state are eating their substantial revenues.

Another reason for this push may be the lack of cohesion in intellectual property enforcement. It seems that corporate America is getting frustrated with the lack of consistency with intellectual property protection. Here is an excerpt of the article:

" Legislators say existing efforts to thwart IP theft fall short. 'The lack of coordination between the federal agencies seems to be one of the biggest hurdles we face,' Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said at a June 17 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on strengthening protection of intellectual property. 'Enforcement, protection of these rights is too important to be piecemeal.'

You can check out the rest of the article here:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080622_031095.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_news+%2B+analysis

While it seems like there is a need for consistency with intellectual property protection, is there a line being crossed? If American citizens are paying for stricter enforcement of taxpaying dollars to protect private industries such as the entertainment and pharmaceutical sectors, are we venturing in to something that is less capitalistic? Will this benefit the general welfare of Americans?

While I am in support of creating more consistent legislation in order to protect intellectual property rights, these rights are not absolute property rights. In the historical context, intellectual property has always been a balance between the rights of the private owner versus the rights of the general public. While I approve of Congress' efforts to make this body of law more consistent, the creation of this copyright czar seems to be little more than a way to appease lobbyists while not creating something that may be more beneficial and efficient in IP enforcement. How is one person supposed to solve the slew of problems that currently exist with intellectual property protection?