2009 Budget Includes $9.4 Million For FBI IP Enforcement Agents

from the wanna-bet-who-snuck-those-provisions-in-there? dept

Tue, Mar 17th 2009 11:58am — Kevin Donovan

As you probably recall, the Obama Department of Justice includes many of the content industry's favorite lawyers. Now, thanks to the $410 billion omnibus spending bill approved by Congress and Obama, the FBI has nearly $10 million more dollars to spend on intellectual property enforcement. The money will fund 2 field officers at each existing Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property unit as well as the creation of a new unit at FBI headquarters to work specifically on multi-district IP cases. This news comes soon after Obama spoke warmly about innovation and start-ups -- two things which hardly need more IP headaches -- so it will be important to watch carefully who he appoints as the newly created IP Czar (though things hardly look good thus far).

Filed Under: budget, fbi, ip

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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 17 Mar 2009 @ 12:14pm

What?
How do things look "good thus far?"
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Mar 2009 @ 12:16pm
  
  Re: What?
  I believe you missed a "hardly".
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  - ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 17 Mar 2009 @ 12:26pm
    
    Re: Re: What?
    Dammit! So I did. And I bitch about people skimming my emails...
    
    Carry on.
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ClydeBarrow, 17 Mar 2009 @ 12:32pm

Now would be the perfect time
to start robbing banks and stealing identites. He can fund IP cops but not fund field agents to investigate the types of crimes that helpd get us into this economic mess?
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Mar 2009 @ 12:53pm
  
  Re: Now would be the perfect time
  Those don't require investigation; once the banking cartel gets its global power(s) the economic downturn will let up.
  
  It's a very regular pattern throughout the last few centuries. Just watch the new--when you see something like "New World Bank gets worldwide regulatory powers" then your local economy will perk right up.
  
  Of course, that "perk right up" has nothing to do with the bank, and everything to do with the banking cartel easing off the artificially created bad economic conditions.
  
  [It's like somebody squeezing your neck, and you don't feel it. The say "trouble breathing? Just pay me with your left testicle and I'll fix ya right up."]
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  - Anonymous Coward, 17 Mar 2009 @ 1:14pm
    
    Re: Re: Now would be the perfect time
    Couldn't agree more!
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Cynical, 17 Mar 2009 @ 1:08pm

Just as I thought
You know, with all that rhetoric about "openness", "transparancy" and "change" in his presidential campaign, I thought the shine would take about 6 months to wear off. It even got my hopes up a little bit.

But hell, it's taken about 5 minutes! He's flat out lied about being open and hasn't even tried to hide it. Even a deep cynic like me was a little surprised at the speed of this show of his true colours.

And I'm not talking about his skin colour here, in case anyone starts flaming me for "racism", ok?
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Cynical, 17 Mar 2009 @ 1:10pm

Forgot to say...
...and he's totally in the pocket of Big Media and the old, corrupt, guard.

Sickening.
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Mar 2009 @ 1:11pm
  
  Re: Forgot to say...
  Best puppet president ever!
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Anon, 17 Mar 2009 @ 1:17pm

Contacting the People in Charge
Hi Kevin,

I would like it if in these stories you included links either to pages or email addresses of where people can get in touch with the people behind each of these issues. After reading these stories often times I'm all set to write a response to a responsible party, but I don't feel like doing the research to find out how to get in touch with everybody you write about. Consider adding?
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LostSailor, 17 Mar 2009 @ 2:28pm

OMG!!!
What an outlandish concept! Funding the FBI to enforce federal law! What new outrage will this dastardly administration come up with next?
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- Guy One, 18 Mar 2009 @ 10:27am
  
  Re: OMG!!!
  There is plenty of funding for IP Laws... This is not the time to be THROWING MORE money we DON'T have at IP enforcement...
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- Anonymous Coward, 18 Mar 2009 @ 8:54pm
  
  Re: OMG!!!
  This is extra money for enforcing specific laws for the benefit of the entertainment industry. All the while there are plenty of ordinary citizens that the FBI doesn't have the time to help. The FBI is turning into a force for rich and powerful.
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