(Measure passed Senate, amended) Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 1981 - Amends the Federal criminal code to revise and increase the penalties for the offense of trafficking in counterfeit labels. Includes within such offense trafficking in copies of motion pictures and audiovisual works. Eliminates the current scienter (knowledge) requirement of "fraudulent intent." Increases the maximum penalty from one year imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine to five years' imprisonment and/or a $250,000 fine. Separates from the elements of such offense its jurisdictional bases, which are defined to include: (1) special jurisdiction of the United States (territorial, aircraft, or maritime); (2) use of a facility of interstate or foreign commerce; or (3) counterfeiting copyrighted material. Establishes new criminal penalties for the criminal infringement of a copyright involving the reproduction or distribution of phonorecords, motion pictures, or audiovisual works. Correlates the level of such penalties to the number of items reproduced or distributed during any 180-day period.
S 691 - 97Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 1982
Became Public Law No: 97-180.
Bill Text Stats
Affected Sectors
How to read this
Sectors are deterministic matches from official Congress.gov data and cached bill text. They are source-derived signals, not conclusions about intent or economic effect.
Evidence matches count official fields, normalized subjects, cached text snippets, or extracted entities that matched the sector rules.
Impact is a bill-level rollup used for sorting and filtering. It is not an economic impact estimate.
Confidence is the strongest individual match score behind that sector.
Evidence snippets show why a sector matched and can repeat when Congress.gov repeats the same phrase across official fields.
CBO Cost Estimates
Official Congressional Budget Office cost estimate links associated with this bill through Congress.gov records.
How to read this
CBO estimates are official source documents with their own assumptions, scope, and publication dates. They can score a bill, a version of a bill, or a broader legislative package.
LawLinter stores the source link from Congress.gov and does not replace the CBO document. Use these cards as pointers for source review, not as independent fiscal advice.
CBO context shows source-attributed Congressional Budget Office cost estimates linked from official Congress.gov bill records. It is research context only; read the official CBO source document for assumptions, scope, and dates.
Campaign Finance Context
Related FEC/OpenFEC campaign-finance records for lawmakers and candidates tied to this bill through source-attributed legislative relationships. These are not donations to the bill itself.
How to read this
Amounts shown here are campaign-finance totals for sponsor or cosponsor-linked candidates and their committees in the displayed FEC cycle.
They are not donations to this bill, spending on this bill, or proof that money influenced or caused sponsorship, cosponsorship, votes, or legislative outcomes.
If multiple linked lawmakers have FEC records, this section can show multiple candidate cards and separate sponsor/cosponsor rollups.
Campaign-finance context uses source-attributed FEC/OpenFEC records that are related or relevant to the displayed bill, lawmaker, candidate, committee, or legislative relationship through deterministic links. It is research context only, not proof of influence, causation, endorsement, or that money caused a sponsorship, vote, or legislative outcome.
Lobbying Context
Related LDA.gov filings where public lobbying activity descriptions reference this bill. These records are source-attributed research context, not evidence of influence or causation.
How to read this
LDA filings are public lobbying disclosure records. LawLinter links them here only when the filing activity text contains an exact-looking reference to this bill.
A filing can mention many issues, clients, agencies, or bills. A match should be treated as a pointer for review, not as a conclusion about why legislation changed or how any lawmaker acted.
Lobbying context uses source-attributed LDA.gov records that appear related to this bill through bill references in public lobbying activity descriptions. It is research context only, not proof of influence, causation, endorsement, lobbying effectiveness, or legislative intent.
Summary
Sponsors
![Sen. Thurmond, Strom [R-SC]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000254_200.jpg)
Timeline
Signed by President.
Signed by President.
Became Public Law No: 97-180.
Became Public Law No: 97-180.
Measure Signed in Senate.
Presented to President.
Presented to President.
House Committee on The Judiciary Discharged by Unanimous Consent.
House Committee on The Judiciary Discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
Passed/agreed to in House: Passed House by Voice Vote.
Passed House by Voice Vote.
Referred to Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice.
Referred to House Committee on The Judiciary.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote.
Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote.
Committee on Judiciary. Reported to Senate by Senator Thurmond favorably with amendments. With written report No. 97-274.
Committee on Judiciary. Reported to Senate by Senator Thurmond favorably with amendments. With written report No. 97-274.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Regular Orders. Calendar No. 383.
Committee on Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
Subcommittee on Criminal Law. Measure with amendments to full committee.
Subcommittee on Criminal Law. Hearings held.
Referred to Subcommittee on Criminal Law.
Introduced in Senate
Read second time and referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary.