The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (PRO IP) of 2008 gained support from Democrats and Republicans and a wide variety of industry groups. The act increases enforcement abilities and raises penalties for copyright infringement.

Moreover Copyright Alliance executive director Patrick Ross praised President George W. Bush for signing the bill.
The President signed for an intellectual property act that creates a White House office especially for defending it. It also increases penalties for piracy and counterfeiting.

According to The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, counterfeiting accounts for losses totaling $250 billion annually. But now the law also establishes a cabinet rank IP enforcement coordinator. The coordinator will take the lead in the government's fight against copyright violators.

However some public advocacy groups had opposed the bill, stating that its penalties were far too harsh. "The bill only adds more imbalances 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.

The bill was originally designed in a more courageous and efficient way, so that the Department of Justice would get involved in prosecuting major civil cases against copyright infringers and then turning all damages collected over to the rights-holder. But the PRO IP it’s what’s left of it.

The Bush administration already has something like this in place, an interagency program called STOP! (Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy), but this didn’t stop him to sign this bill as well.