Yesterday, United States President George W. Bush signed a bill related to the highly debated copyright infringement matter. From this point on, the penalties will be significantly toughened on all music and movie piracy actions. The new bill tightens all civil and criminal intellectual laws and it is also designed to provide the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation with more resources to fight intellectual property crimes.

The reason why such a measure was considered absolutely necessary for many years is because the losses experienced by the companies involved in the industry are estimated at $250 billion every year.

The new bill should cause great enthusiasm for trade groups such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as it covers certain aspects and adds certain rules that their officials have been requesting for quite some time.

RIAA’s chairman Mitch Bainwol appeared very pleased the new PRO-IP law passed in the Senate, saying that it should be "music to the ears of all those who care about strengthening American creativity and jobs." He added that the bipartisan legislation approved yesterday ensures an enhanced protection for one of the country’s biggest assets, one that has a significant contribution in the country’s global competitiveness.

Still, there are many who believe that the decision is way too extreme. Several public advocacy groups expressed their strong opposition to the bill, saying that the harsh penalties do not balance the users’ rights and those of the major software and media companies. "The bill only adds more imbalance to a copyright law that favors large media companies. At a time when the entire digital world is going to less restrictive distribution models, and when the courts are aghast at the outlandish damages being inflicted on consumers in copyright cases, this bill goes entirely in the wrong direction," said Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge, a Washington, D.C.-based digital rights group, a few weeks ago.

The bill was heavily supported by all of the American businesses involved one way or another in these activities and their advocates made their point clear in all the attended debates.

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue asked Bush to consider the hard work that people put in their activities and sign the PRO-IP, in order to ensure a fair protective system. "Mr. President, you will be doing a great service for the nation's innovators, workers, and consumers by signing this legislation into law," he said in a speech made last week in Washington, D.C. He also added that the PRO-IP Act will send a strong message to all intellectual property criminals that the United States are ready to go that extra mile in order to protect the country’s innovations.

The major industry copyright protection groups such as the Business Software Alliance, RIAA and the Motion Picture Association of America did not release any comments yet on the decision but their take on the matter is widely known and the news were probably heavily celebrated in-doors.